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International Journal for Equity in Health
Published in: International Journal for Equity in Health 1/2012

Open Access 01-12-2012 | Research

Equity of inpatient health care in rural Tanzania: a population- and facility-based survey

Authors: Grace A Ferry, Sean R Dickson, Godfrey Mbaruku, Lynn P Freedman, Margaret E Kruk

Published in: International Journal for Equity in Health | Issue 1/2012

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Abstract

Objective

To explore the equity of utilization of inpatient health care at rural Tanzanian health centers through the use of a short wealth questionnaire.

Methods

Patients admitted to four rural health centers in the Kigoma Region of Tanzania from May 2008 to May 2009 were surveyed about their illness, asset ownership and demographics. Principal component analysis was used to compare the wealth of the inpatients to the wealth of the region's general population, using data from a previous population-based survey.

Results

Among inpatients, 15.3% were characterized as the most poor, 19.6% were characterized as very poor, 16.5% were characterized as poor, 18.9% were characterized as less poor, and 29.7% were characterized as the least poor. The wealth distribution of all inpatients (p < 0.0001), obstetric inpatients (p < 0.0001), other inpatients (p < 0.0001), and fee-exempt inpatients (p < 0.001) were significantly different than the wealth distribution in the community population, with poorer patients underrepresented among inpatients. The wealth distribution of pediatric inpatients (p = 0.2242) did not significantly differ from the population at large.

Conclusion

The findings indicated that while current Tanzanian health financing policies may have improved access to health care for children under five, additional policies are needed to further close the equity gap, especially for obstetric inpatients.
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Metadata
Title
Equity of inpatient health care in rural Tanzania: a population- and facility-based survey
Authors
Grace A Ferry
Sean R Dickson
Godfrey Mbaruku
Lynn P Freedman
Margaret E Kruk
Publication date
01-12-2012
Publisher
BioMed Central
Published in
International Journal for Equity in Health / Issue 1/2012
Electronic ISSN: 1475-9276
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/1475-9276-11-7

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