Role of geographical access on institutional delivery in rural areas of India: An analysis of a sample survey

What are the hurdles women face to access health care services in rural areas, Is it remote locations, the economic condition of women, or the socio-cultural tradition of the families? - All these questions haunt a social scientist while assessing the barrier to the utilization of health care services among women in a rural setup. This study comprised 80 women from relatively better accessible areas and 120 women from poorly accessible areas. A stratified sampling approach has been adopted to study a total of200 women for this study. Face- to -face interviews with all participants were conducted with a structured questionnaire. During delivery three fourth of the women were found to be assisted by relatives or neighbors and traditional birth attendants (TBAj. About 42 percent women (aged < 20year) considered transportation to be major hurdle to the utilization of institutional delivery. Close to 35 percent of mature women deemed (aged 20 - 40 yearsj both lack of doctor and transportation to be the major problems to access institutional delivery. Utilization of institutional delivery services by rural women in the study area was found to be very low, where fewer women gave birth to their children in a health institution. Use of institutional delivery declined as the distance from the nearest health centerincreases.