Socioeconomic Inequalities in Access to Health Care: Examining the Case of Burkina Faso

Abstract

The past decade has recorded remarkable interest in socioeconomic inequalities in health care. A multivariate analysis of the World Health Survey data for Burkina Faso was conducted using STATA. This included questions on household economic factors, perceived need, and access to health care. Poverty was defined using Principal Components Analysis. There was no significant difference in perceived need on the basis of poverty or gender. The less poor accessed health care more than the poor, but this difference was significant only among males. Respondents who lived in urban areas accessed health care more than those in rural areas, but this difference was significant only among females. We argue that health care financing arrangements affect self-reported need and access to health care. Even when they perceive need, the poor do not access care, probably because of cost, exacerbated by non-availability of readily accessible health care facilities.