Objective
Sociodemographic factors influence slum dwellers health seeking behaviors such as choosing a health facility. To better understand the health-seeking behaviors among the slum dwelling residents in Mumbai, India, a cross-sectional community needs assessment was conducted under the support of the Rural India Supporting Trust (RIST).
Results
432 respondents reported using some type of health facility within the past year, including 172 reporting use of private hospitals, 208 reporting use of public hospitals, 23 reporting use of Community Health clinics, and 29 reporting use of some other form of healthcare service. Logistic regression showed that female participants were significantly negatively associated with choosing a general practitioner (log-odds: -0.22, SE: 0.08). Higher education (log-odds: 0.16, SE: 0.08) and higher income (log-odds: 0.28, SE: 0.10) are significantly positively associated with choosing a private hospital. High income was found to be significantly negatively associated with choosing a government hospital (log-odds: -0.23, SE: 0.10). Education was also found to be significantly negatively associated with choosing a community health center (log-odds: -0.40, SE: 0.20). This study showed that health-seeking behaviors for health facilities are consistent with previously published results.