Hospital Choice of Rural Poor in Developing Countries: A Case Study of Medical Care Service in Sri Lanka

抄録

This paper analyzes patient choice of health service facilities, using empirical data collected through a survey conducted in rural areas of Sri Lanka. The hospital choice model takes into account disease types and transportation modal choice. The results show that the accessibility of patients to the medical care services and the level-of-service of hospitals impact the choice of hospital significantly. The results also unveil the relationships between living conditions and diseases, for example, that the unavailability of water increase the possibility that long-term critical diseases will occur. Additionally, they show that the value of travel time in accessing health services is much higher than the average wage level. Finally the paper presents the policy implications that the accessibility as well as the service quality of hospitals should be highlighted more in medical service planning in addition to the free medical service.