Health-seeking Behaviour of Women in Rural Punjab: A Sociological Perspective

Health status and health-seeking behaviour are commonly studied in the context of human public health care system. This paper aims to investigate the impact of the autonomy of women and the factors affecting the women’s health-seeking behavior in rural Punjab. Majority of respondents (61.25 per cent) were aged 20-25, residing in joint families, with incomes between Rs 50,000 - 1.0 lakh. Only five per cent were regularly visiting for routine checkups. The regular availability of doctors on public health Centres was reported by 86.25 per cent of the respondents. A significant barrier was the hesitation (61.25%) to discuss health issues with male doctors. Most women resorted to home remedies before seeking formal healthcare .The study highlights a significant correlation between the quality index, especially accessibility, and health-seeking behavior. This underscores the importance of improving healthcare accessibility to enhance women’s health-seeking habits in rural areas.