Determinants of Health-seeking Behaviour in Northeast India

Abstract

India’s northeast region comprises eight states, which, together, is home to 3.8 per cent of the country’s population. The quality of healthcare and manpower availability remains a cause for concern in the region, affecting the overall health-seeking behaviour of the people. This study attempts to understand the determinants of utilization of healthcare services in Northeast India. Healthcare and morbidity data for this study are based on a Northeast India sample from the National Sample Survey Organization’s (NSSO’s) health consumption data (2014). Probit, multinomial and mixed conditional logit models were employed in the study. In Northeast India, uneducated, higher-aged, Schedule Castes/Schedule Tribes (SCs/STs), Muslims, rural people and district people are served less by medical institutions and because of poor road connectivity they either remain untreated or seek care at underequipped primary healthcare services, while their counterparts utilize private facilities mostly for outpatient care and either public hospital or private facilities for inpatient care. There is also a tendency to substitute alternative healthcare when the cost of an inpatient healthcare service rises. To protect the interest of marginalized people and achieve the target of accessible, affordable and quality healthcare, the government needs to strengthen the primary healthcare in rural areas and improve the quality of healthcare in urban areas without increasing the cost of treatment.