The Demand for Primary Health Care Services in the Bicol Region of the Philippines

Abstract

Mortality is assumed to be strongly reduced by medical care however the effects of medical services on health are often underestimated because some of the same factors which lead to an increased demand for primary health care (PHC) services are also associated with increased morbidity and mortality. Consequently understanding the determinants of the demand for medical services is important for evaluating health outcomes. This paper estimates the parameters of a simple model of the demand for health services using data from the Bicol Multipurpose Survey data from the Philippines. The parameters of the demand for key components of PHC--outpatient prenatal delivery well-child and infant immunizations--are estimated. Findings suggest that the quality of the care may be very important but that economic factors as deterrents to using medical care--inaccessibility cash costs and lack of income--may not be of paramount importance. Finally it is shown that the provision of free services in rural areas may not insure that the services reach the poorest people. (authors modified)