Ayşen Melek AYTUĞ : A Demographic approach to the health seeking behaviour of women at reproductive ages. (2000)

In this thesis it is aimed to study the socio-economic and demographic determinant of health service utilization of women at reproductive age from the data of "Health Service Utilization and Client's Satisfaction" survey which was conducted by Health Project Coordination Unit, Ministry of Health in 1998.

"Health Service Utilization and Client's Satisfaction" survey is carried out in 6 provinces (Adıyaman, Çorum, Bilecik, Eskişehir, Malatya, Van). The interviews were held by face-to-face interviewing method. The sample size of the survey for each province was planned as 400 households. In this study the data from Adıyaman and Malatya are used, and women at reproductive ages are inspected for the utilization of health services and for the effects of socio-economic and demographic factors on utilization.

Logistic regression analyses was performed in order to define the variables that are important for health care utilization and their effects on the probability health service utilization (at least one). Set of variables of individual, household and geographic level are prepared.

Similar results are obtained in analyses of the utilization of health services in Malatya and Adıyaman which are the two provinces that take place in Eastern Region. These two provinces are placed in different groups according to Human Development Index.

According to the results of the analysis which all the three sets of variables were included in the analysis, it was seen that the increasing age and number of children ever born had a positive effect on the probability of health service utilization. However, this result was not found statistically significant.

The probabilities of utilizing health services of the never-married women are smaller than the same probabilities of the married women

According to analysis, working of the women for a salary, and have social insurance increases the utilization of health services.

The probability of utilizing health services of the women who are the members of small sized families are high than the women who are the members of the very large families, and also the probability of utilizing health services of women higher in urban areas than rural areas with statistical significance.

Distance to the ne arest health institution and type of transport, these two variables which were thought to be effective on utilization on health services were found to have no significant effect as the result of the analysis.

It can be said for Adıyaman and Malatya that the probability of the utilization of health services is higher for the women at reproductive age who are married, work for income, is under the coverage of any social insurance, live in a small- size family, and settled in the urban areas

Demographic and socio-economic characteristics of population, (age, sex, marital status and social insurance status e.g) have a important effect on the utilization of health services