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Community health services and health care utilization in rural Bangladesh

Author

Listed:
  • Amin, Ruhul
  • Chowdhury, Shifiq A.
  • Kamal, G. M.
  • Chowdhury, J.

Abstract

The study, which is based on data from two household level health surveys conducted in 1976 and 1987 in the Companiganj area of rural Bangladesh, examines the premise that the utilization of public health care services can be increased by increasing the availability and accessability of effective medicines to the public and by improving the disease recognition and management by the health practitioners. The results of the study suggest that the availability and accessability of modern effective medicines through the provision of decentralized community-based rural health services, by a well-trained and well-managed field personnel structure, had an incremental impact on the utilization of modern health care from a rural health center and its subcenters. The study further reveals that, in 1976 as well as in 1987, the overwhelming majority of the rural Bangladesh population were using modern Western medical practitioners, although most of these practitioners were informally trained or self-trained without any formal medical degrees or training. It is concluded that the persons responsible for health program planning and health program implementation need to ensure that the access to basic public health care services be made broad enough to cover the majority of the rural population through a system of decentralized curative and preventive services, as well as through a system of adequate training and deployment of health professionals, including training programs to improve the quality of medical services offered by the informal and self-trained practitioners of modern medicines.

Suggested Citation

  • Amin, Ruhul & Chowdhury, Shifiq A. & Kamal, G. M. & Chowdhury, J., 1989. "Community health services and health care utilization in rural Bangladesh," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 29(12), pages 1343-1349, January.
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:29:y:1989:i:12:p:1343-1349
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Majumder, Amlan, 2014. "Economics of health care utilisation: a study of self-reported morbidity and health seeking patterns in the districts of Cooch Behar and Jalpaiguri, West Bengal, India," EconStor Books, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, number 110899, December.
    2. World Bank, 2003. "Private Sector Assessment for Health, Nutrition and Population in Bangladesh," World Bank Publications - Reports 14667, The World Bank Group.
    3. Ahmed, Syed Masud & Petzold, Max & Kabir, Zarina Nahar & Tomson, Göran, 2006. "Targeted intervention for the ultra poor in rural Bangladesh: Does it make any difference in their health-seeking behaviour?," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 63(11), pages 2899-2911, December.

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