Department of Economics, A.N. Sinha Institute of Social Studies, Patna, Bihar, India
Online Published on 03 August, 2023.
Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) on health ensures healthy lives and promotes well-being for all at all ages. Sufficient and equitable distribution of resources is imperative on the one hand while addressing both institutional and non-institutional barriers is also important on the other hand. Among the non-institutional barriers, socioeconomic factors significantly contribute to the health and well-being of an individual. In this paper, the socio-economic barriers to healthcare access are studied in the context of Bihar. The study is based on secondary data that is taken from NSS 75th round survey: consumption on health (2017-18). The logistic regression model is used to check the significance of the relationship between healthcare access and socio-economic factors like Age, Gender, Income, Caste and Religion. The result is presented through Graphs and Charts followed by a discussion and conclusion. The study shows that all the socioeconomic attributes are significantly associated with non-access to healthcare access on all India level. However, in Bihar, only income class and education are significant barriers. Further, ‘non-chronic illness’ and ‘medical services not free’ are the two most significant barriers to healthcare access in both India and Bihar. The concentration graph shows a large variation in healthcare access across the income quintiles. It means, the barriers to healthcare access are largely concentrated among the poor and thus, the current health programs are pro-rich. According to the result, appropriate measures are suggested at both the household and state levels to reduce the barriers to healthcare access. A comprehensive and holistic approach to health services can only ensure the achievement of SDG - 3 (Health).
On all India level, all the socioeconomic attributes are significant to barriers to healthcare access.
In Bihar, Education and Income-class are two significant barriers to healthcare access.
Chronic illness is the most significant barrier to healthcare access in both India and Bihar.
Free medical services significantly reduce the cases of non-access to healthcare, especially among the poor.
SDG-3, Socioeconomic barriers, Healthcare access, Health inequality
