SEARCHCROSS-SECTIONALpublic health, epidemiology

cross-sectional·public health, epidemiology, family medicine, internal medicine, psychiatry·PMC10012669

Characteristics and Influencing Factors of Healthcare Utilization in Post-conflict Primary Care Attendees in Northern Sri Lanka

Frontiers in Health Services · 4 authors, 4 centres

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TL;DR

This cross-sectional study analyzed secondary data from the COMGAP-S epidemiologic survey, which recruited 1,025 attendees (1,019 completed surveys) from 25 randomly selected public primary care facilities across five districts in Northern Sri Lanka using systematic selection of every third attendee.

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428 CHARS

STUDY TYPE

cross-sectional

SPECIALTY

public health

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AI pipeline

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ORIGINAL PAPER

PMC10012669

Characteristics and Influencing Factors of Healthcare Utilization in Post-conflict Primary Care Attendees in Northern Sri Lanka

Frontiers in Health Services

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ABSTRACT

Abstract Sri Lanka's healthcare systems attempts to provides access to universal healthcare services for all citizens and is designed to be free of out-of-pocket payments. Despite a 30-year civil conflict, natural disasters, and COVID-19, the healthcare system within the country remains robust and strong. However, due to a lack of formalized pathways and centralized record keeping, the pattern of service utilization is still relatively unknown, which raises concerns regarding effective allocation of scarce resources and efficiency of referral pathways. To address this gap in knowledge, part of the parent study (COMGAP-S), consisted of a survey on healthcare service use conducted among adults attending primary care facilities. The results from this quantitative data analysis indicate the majority of people seeking care originate from rural areas, are older (50+), attend divisional hospitals, and report paying fees at point of contact. Our findings indicate a need for more efficient use of healthcare services, creation of referral routes to ensure limited healthcare resources are used effectively. Additionally, further investment in services is needed to ensure Sri Lanka's healthcare system meets the standard of universal healthcare as proposed by the World Health Organization. These findings address a gap in knowledge for national decision-makers within Sri Lanka along with other similar post-conflict healthcare settings across the globe. Keywords: primary care, mental health, health service access and utilization, post-conflict, healthcare

CITATION EXPORT

Shannon Doherty, Diliniya Stanislaus Sureshkumar, Rasiah Thayakaran et al.. Characteristics and Influencing Factors of Healthcare Utilization in Post-conflict Primary Care Attendees in Northern Sri Lanka. Frontiers in Health Services. (2022). https://doi.org/10.3389/frhs.2021.719617

AUTHORS

4 · 4 CENTRES

Shannon Doherty, Diliniya Stanislaus Sureshkumar, Rasiah Thayakaran, Rajendra Surenthirakumaran

1School of Allied Health, Faculty of Health, Education, Medicine and Social Care, Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge, United Kingdom
2Unit for Social and Community Psychiatry, WHO Collaborating Centre for Mental Health Service Development, Queen Mary University of London, London, United Kingdom
3Institute of Applied Health Research, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, United Kingdom
4Department of Community and Family Medicine, University of Jaffna, Jaffna, Sri Lanka