Access to primary healthcare (PHC) is a major goal of health care planning. Improvements in access to PHC pave the way for advancement in the quality of people's life. In this study, access is analyzed on the basis of five dimensions-availability, accessibility, affordability, acceptability and adequacy. Limited studies has been made with reference to access to healthcare services considering non-spatial factors like acceptability and adequacy. Using primary data collected through household survey, variation in dimensions of access is measured, using primary data collected through household survey, in three development blocks of Allahabad district in Uttar Pradesh. Variation of access to health care facilities is evaluated across users of health care facilities and different socio-economic groups. The result of this study shows that variation in access exists between development block and across different socio-economic classes. The analysis demonstrates that waiting time in utilisation of health facilities (under availability) and interpersonal treatment from medical staffs (under adequacy) are important causes of dissatisfaction of people with access. These issues require attention of policy makers to further improve in accessibility to primary healthcare. The findings of this study may be useful in addressing problematic issues in access to PHC in the study area.
Primary healthcare, Access, Dimensions of access and Socio-economic stratification
