Summary

This study provides new and more detailed information about health care practices, including measures taken within the household, and preferences for health services at the village-level.

Description

Despite significant improvements, health status in Timor-Leste is poor. Low rates of use of public health services present a major challenge to improving the health of the people of the country. The Health Care Seeking Behaviour Study (HCSBS) was designed to improve understanding of the underlying issues and factors affecting the use of services, particularly in rural areas, and to provide an evidence base for future health policy, planning and programs.

This Study provides new and more detailed information about health care practices, including measures taken within the household, and preferences for health services at the village-level. It provides insights into the processes of decision-making and action in rural communities, including choice of particular providers or services–traditional and biomedical, and the various factors that influence those choices. In particular, the Study provides rich qualitative data in relation to three key scenarios: a child with diarrhoea, a difficult birth, and birth spacing. The Study also recorded, in some detail, provider perspectives, including the constraints experienced by government health service providers, as well as the views of users and providers on user-provider interactions. In addition to tables and figures, this Report seeks to present the voices of some of the research participants; these appear in boxes throughout the text and in the appendices where five slightly longer narratives are presented.

• Timor-Leste Health Care Seeking Behaviour Study [PDF 2.6mb]

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