Discussion and conclusions
Summary of findings
Users of public hospitals, in both urban and rural areas, were
poor relative to users of private hospitals. Median expenditures
per day were higher at private vs public facilities, and this
difference was especially marked in urban areas. For hospitalizations
at public facilities (both in urban and in rural areas),
most respondents were able to pay out of their savings or
income; or by borrowing from friends, family or employer.
Those using private facilities were more likely to report selling
land or other assets as the primary source of coping (particularly
in rural areas) and they were more likely to have to
borrow money at interest (particularly in urban areas).
In-depth interview respondents (those below the 30th percentile
of SES) who used public hospitals often did so because of
their lower perceived cost. Poor respondents reported using
multiple different coping strategies. Respondents from urban
areas were more likely to have borrowed from friends or
employers, while those in rural areas were more likely to report
having borrowed from family members. Recent migrants to
urban areas were less likely than permanent residents to report
borrowing from relatives, but in some cases were able to borrow
from neighbours or employers.