UTILISATION OF HEALTH CARE SERVICES BY ADOLESCENTS IN INDIA: TRENDS, DIFFERENTIALS AND DETERMINANTS

The present paper deals with utilisation of health care services by adolescents in India. This study is completely based on 42nd round, 52nd round and 60th round data of National Sample Survey Organisation. Bivariate and multivariate analyses have been done to fulfill the objectives. The analysis shows that there was a higher prevalence of untreated ailments among the economically weaker sections of the population and rural areas. Private sector was the major provider of health care services to the study population and the share of public sector has declined further during the study period. Results showed that educational attainment of the individuals to be having a significant relationship with treatment of ailments. The other significant observation was the inverse relationship between MPCE of household and prevalence of untreated ailments. Ailments of the study population belonging to highest MPCE group was 72 percent less chance to remain untreated than their counterparts in lowest MPCE group. The odd of not seeking treatment decreased with the increment of duration of ailments within the reference period. This hints that there is a tendency to wait before seeking treatment for an ailment, which may be to understand about the seriousness of the ailment.