DETERMINANTS AND PATTERN OF HEALTH CARE SERVICES UTILISATION IN POST GRADUATE STUDENTS
Abstract
Background: The health care utilisation of a population is dependent on their health seeking behaviourwhich is determined by their physical, political, socio-economic and socio-cultural aspects. Objectives:This particular study is conducted to identify the determinants and the patterns of health servicesutilisation by the postgraduate students of Allama Iqbal Open University in Pakistan. It was a crosssectional study and conducted from December 2008 to April 2009 in Allama Iqbal Open UniversityIslamabad. Methods: A non-probability convenience sampling was done in post graduate students whowere enrolled for Masters Degree at Allama Iqbal Open University Islamabad. Data was collected on aself administered, pre-tested questionnaire to identify the pattern of utilisation of health care services bythis educated class. Data was labelled and entered in SPSS version 16. Chi-square test is applied as atest of significance with fixing the p value at 0.05 as significant. Results: Only 129 students 32 males,97 females) out of 250 responded to the questionnaire with the response rate of only 51.6%. The sociodemographic profile of the participants shows that 71 (55%) belong to age group 20–29 years, followedby 43 (33.3%) in age group 30–39 years. The marital status of the participants had a significantassociation with selection of health care services (p=0.04). Twenty-four (75%) of the males and 67(65%) of the females were using private sector facilities. Age, marital status and income of the studysubjects had significant association with selection of the provider with p values of 0.000, 0.047 and0.051 respectively. Conclusion: The health care system in Pakistan comprises the public as well asprivate health facilities. In Pakistan vast majority of doctors resides in urban area and attracts theeducated class towards private sector. Utilisation of public health care facility is not the main priority ofthe educated class of the country. Government officials should pay attention to make it more convenientfor general public.Keywords: Utilisation, Health Care Services, PakistanReferences
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