Volume : 7, Issue : 8, August - 2018

Health seeking behavior of North Bengal: A study of the effects of socio-economic and demographic characteristics on the healthcare facilities in Siliguri Municipal Corporation Area (SMCA)

Subrata Ghosh

Abstract :

<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;&#10;text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph;line-height:150%"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;;&#10;color:black">Background:</span></b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:&#10;150%;font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;;color:black">&nbsp;</span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;"> With urbanization and modernization, majority of the developing countries including India is passing through demographic as well as epidemiologic transition with varying morbidity prevalence rates among different background people. Present study made an attempt to address the health seeking behaviorin the light of socio-economic and demographic characteristics of the people of Siliguri Municipal Corporation Area (SMCA), since the region is characterised substantial population pressure<span style="color:black">, rapid urbanisation, persistent migration, increasing slums etc and diversified or unstructured healthcare facilities</span>. <b><span style="color:black">Materials and Methods:</span></b><span style="color:black">&nbsp;Multi-stage sampling method was adopted and cross-sectional survey was conducted with 400 households or 1,684 persons on nature and extent of utilization of available</span>healthcare facilities<span style="color:black"> during their illness. <b>Results:</b>&nbsp;</span> Healthcare facility utilisation rate was</span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;&#10;line-height:150%;font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;;mso-fareast-font-family:&#10;&quot;Times New Roman&quot;;mso-bidi-font-weight:bold">378.86 </span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">per 1000 persons</span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:&#10;&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;;mso-fareast-font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;;mso-bidi-font-weight:&#10;bold">. Though there is no such remarkable variation exists among the different castes and religions regarding </span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:&#10;150%;font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">the use of healthcare service facilities </span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:&#10;&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;;mso-fareast-font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;;mso-bidi-font-weight:&#10;bold">but disparity is found in case of<span style="mso-spacerun:yes">&nbsp; </span>other factors such as<span style="mso-spacerun:yes">&nbsp; </span>gender, age, household monthly income, marital status etc. </span><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;;&#10;color:black">Conclusion:</span></b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:&#10;150%;font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;;color:black">&nbsp;</span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">Despite the availability of healthcare facilities, all illness episodes were not utilised the healthcare services, variation in </span><span style="font-size:&#10;12.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;;mso-fareast-font-family:&#10;&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">socio-economic and demographic </span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">background of the people could be the probable reason. To some extent, healthc seeking behaviour of the individual is influenced by several other factors such as pattern of utilisation, source of care and system of medicine utilised during the reference period.</span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;;&#10;mso-fareast-font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></p>