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Cited by 658Healthcare Systems and ReformsPublic Health and Social InequalitiesGlobal Maternal and Child Health

Health seeking behaviour and health service utilization in Pakistan: challenging the policy makers

Open access
Shaikh, B. T., Hatcher, J.·2005·Journal of Public Health
DOI 10.1093/pubmed/fdh207
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Abstract

There is a growing literature on health seeking behaviours and the determinants of health services utilization especially in the context of developing countries. However, very few focused studies have been seen in Pakistan in this regard. This paper presents an extensive literature review of the situation in developing countries and relates the similar factors responsible for shaping up of a health seeking behaviour and health service utilization in Pakistan. The factors determining the health behaviours may be seen in various contexts: physical, socio-economic, cultural and political. Therefore, the utilization of a health care system, public or private, formal or non-formal, may depend on socio-demographic factors, social structures, level of education, cultural beliefs and practices, gender discrimination, status of women, economic and political systems environmental conditions, and the disease pattern and health care system itself. Policy makers need to understand the drivers of health seeking behaviour of the population in an increasingly pluralistic health care system. Also a more concerted effort is required for designing behavioural health promotion campaigns through inter-sectoral collaboration focusing more on disadvantaged segments of the population.

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  • The way in which gender and health-seeking are inter-linked is unique for each setting, including slum areas.

    “the way in which gender and health-seeking are inter-linked is unique for each setting [9], including slum areas [10].”

    From The gendered experience with respect to health-seeking behaviour in an urban slum of Kolkata, India (2018) · cites this paper as [10]

    The Cultural and socio-demographic factors and Women's autonomy sections describe how gender roles and local cultural practices affect health seeking in Pakistan. They support a link between gender and health seeking, but do not establish that the link is unique in each setting. The slum-area clause is attached to a different citation [10], so it is not assessed here. (LLM, conf=0.81)

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Authors
Shaikh, B. T., & Hatcher, J.
Affiliations
Aga Khan University (PK)
ORCID
Shaikh, B. T.
Venue
Journal of Public Health
Publisher
Oxford University Press (OUP)
Published
2005-03-01
Volume
27
Issue
1
Pages
49-54
ISSN
  • 0943-1853 (ISSN-L)
  • 1741-3842
  • 1741-3850
DOI
10.1093/pubmed/fdh207
OpenAlex
W2096977327
Cited by
658
References
1
Citations by year
2026: 25 · 2025: 39 · 2024: 32 · 2023: 44 · 2022: 55 · 2021: 53 · 2020: 50 · 2019: 47 · 2018: 46 · 2017: 42 · 2016: 33 · 2015: 28 · 2014: 39 · 2013: 34 · 2012: 31
FWCI
6.04
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
cc-by
Locations
  • Journal of Public Health (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • eCommons - AKU (Aga Khan University) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
  • HighWire Press Open Archive (submittedVersion)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Economics, Econometrics and Finance › Finance › Healthcare Systems and Reforms
  • Social Sciences › Health › Public Health and Social Inequalities
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Pediatrics, Perinatology and Child Health › Global Maternal and Child Health
Keywords
health-seeking behavior, health care utilization, socioeconomic factors, cultural beliefs and practices, gender discrimination, women's status, health campaigns, intersectoral collaboration, disadvantaged groups, health policy, Pakistan
MeSH terms
Cultural Characteristics, Developing Countries, Health Services Needs and Demand, Humans, Pakistan, Patient Acceptance of Health Care, Policy Making, Primary Health Care, Socioeconomic Factors, Health Behavior, Private Sector

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