title: Frequently used healthcare services in urban slums of Dhaka and adjacent rural areas and their determinants.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  To compare patterns of healthcare service user preference between urban slums in Dhaka and adjacent rural areas and to identify key determinants of those preferences.
  
  
  METHODS
  The data were collected through baseline surveys conducted in 2008 and 2009. A total of 3207 subjects aged 10-90 years were systematically selected from 12 big slums in Dhaka and 3 rural villages outside Dhaka.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Two frequently used healthcare sources utilized in 1 month preceding the baseline survey were pharmacies (slum, 42.6%; rural, 30.1%) and government hospitals/clinics (GVHC; slum, 13.5%; rural, 8.9%). According to the multilevel logistic regression analysis adjusted for age, sex and marital status, the likelihood of using pharmacies and GVHC were higher for those subjects who used non-hygienic toilets, who reported food deficiency at a family level, who expressed dissatisfaction about family income and who stated poor health status. Some more factors namely overweight, living in permanently structured house, smoking bidis and less frequency of watching TV were associated with higher likelihood of using GVHC.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Pharmacy was the most dominant healthcare service in both areas. As persons running pharmacies often provide poor quality of healthcare services, they need continuous training and back-up supports to improve their quality of services and to strengthen the overall healthcare system in Bangladesh.
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health Medicine, School of Public Health, University of Bielefeld, Bielefeld, Germany. mobarak.khan@uni-bielefeld.de
authors.forename: M M H
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Khan
authors.forename: Oliver
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Grübner
authors.forename: Alexander
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Krämer
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001459:Bangladesh; D003258:Consumer Behavior / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care; D010594:Pharmacies / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011204:Poverty Areas; D019035:Rural Health Services / Q000145:classification / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D019037:Urban Health Services / Q000145:classification / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D055815:Young Adult