UNDERSTANDING RURAL-URBAN DIFFERENCES IN THE PREVALENCE OF MORBIDITIES AND UNTREATED MORBIDITIES IN EASTERN PART OF INDIA: EVIDENCE FROM 75TH ROUND OF NATIONAL SAMPLE SURVEY (2017-2018)

sujoy pal , Jawaharlal Nehru University

Socio-economic and regional inequity in the prevalence of morbidity and unmet need is a significant development issue in the Indian context. There has been very minimal improvement in the reduction of the proportion of untreated morbidity in the past few decades. Universal health coverage through equitable and affordable healthcare is an important criterion for achieving sustainable development goals. In the present context, the focus has been given to understand the morbidity situations and rural-urban differential in unmet need of healthcare in Eastern India. The paper used 75st round of the National Sample Survey (NSS) on Social Consumption: Health (July 2017-June 2018) (Schedule number 25.0) to understand the unmet need of healthcare in Four East Indian states, i.e., Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, and West Bengal. Binary percentage distribution, two binary logistic regressions, and Fairlie’s decomposition technique (1999) have been used. The result shows that the rural-urban disparity in the prevalence of morbidity is very significant. Logistic regression on the association between unmet need and place of residence shows that social groups, age, state, religion, nature of ailment, and spells of ailments are major determinants of untreated morbidities in Eastern India. Decomposition technique shows economic status, social strata, and nature of ailments significantly contribute to the rural-urban gap in unmet need of healthcare. It has been found that not only the structural determinants but also the nature and severity of diseases are also playing a significant role in shaping the inequity in the unmet need of healthcare in Eastern India.

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 Presented in Session 110. Social Inequalities in Health, Wellbeing and Morbidity