Gender role and child health care utilization in Nepal.
OBJECTIVE
To study the gender role in child health care utilization in Nepal.


METHODS
We analysed 8112 individual observations of age </=15 years from 2847 households in 274 communities, obtained from the 1996 Nepal Living Standard Survey. Four steps of a health seeking action, namely illness reporting, choosing an external care, choosing a specific health care provider, and spending money to treat the sick child, were examined using discrete/continuous choice models.


RESULTS
There was no statistically significant difference between boys and girls by demographic, socio-economic and geographical status in the sample. However, gender was associated with all four utilization decision steps. While the net effect of being a boy was modest in illness reporting (p<0.10), it appeared stronger in the choice of external care, in the choice of public provider and in the choice of expenditure with the private provider (p<0.05).


CONCLUSIONS
Gender role not only affects illness reporting but also affects the decision to choose a health care provider and how much to spend on the sick child, i.e. it affects the entire steps of a health seeking action.
Pokhrel
Subhash
S
Department of Tropical Hygiene and Public Health, University of Heidelberg, INF 324, D-69120 Heidelberg, Germany. subhash.pokhrel@urz.uni-heidelberg.de
Snow
Rachel
R
Dong
Hengjin
H
Hidayat
Budi
B
Flessa
Steffen
S
Sauerborn
Rainer
R
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D002662:Child Health Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005191:Family Characteristics; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D009390:Nepal; D012737:Sex Factors