Food Insecurity and Healthcare Utilization in Indonesia: Evidence from Indonesian National Household Surveys

Abstract

Treatment for sicknesses in healthcare is a crucial determinant to improve health. In Indonesia, the unmet need for healthcare is common for people in the lower economic group. This study aims to examine how food insecurity affects outpatient care using the indicators of food insecurity to highlight individuals with high health risks and experiencing problems with limited resources. The data used in this study consisted of 159,236 individuals representing different age ranges from the 2017 National Socio-Economic Survey (SUSENAS) and the 2018 Village Potential Census (PODES). Data were analyzed using ivprobit to address bias due to the endogeneity in the food insecurity variables. The results indicate that a higher food insecurity score will increase the chances of not accessing modern healthcare for outpatient care when sick. Several variables like sex, types of residence, number of household members living together, access to healthcare, health insurance, social protection, and illness characteristic were also found to influence individual behavior in not utilizing modern healthcare for outpatient care. This study suggests that policymakers should pay attention to the utilization of modern healthcare, especially for outpatient care in groups experiencing food insecurity.

Smartphone Diary Application in Household Surveys: Integration of High Frequency Temporal Data in Large-scale Data Collection

“…Household surveys are the primary data source for studying living standards, inequality, and financial or social protection (Attia-Konan et al 2019; Brinda et al 2015; Sari and Handayani 2022; Van Minh et al 2013; Zeng et al 2018). They are mostly cross-sectional and consequently use questions with retrospective reference periods ranging up to one year (Browning et al 2014).…”

Understanding the association between unmet dental care needs and household food security status among older people in Ghana

“…Similar findings have been shown in low-and middle-income countries. In Indonesia, for example, food insecurity was also observed as a risk of restricted access to modern health care for outpatient care [9]. Research also shows in the Democratic Republic of Congo that the odds of adhering to antiretroviral therapy were lower among patients with food insecurity in comparison to those without any food insecurity [10].…”

Food Insecurity, Healthcare Utilization, and Healthcare Expenditures: A Longitudinal Cohort Study

“…Some studies have shown that food insecurity leads to increased medical expenditure and greater use of acute care services among children [ 19 , 20 ], older adults [ 17 , 21 ], and individuals with chronic conditions [ 22 ]. On the other hand, several studies have reported reduced outpatient visits and lower access to modern healthcare in food insecure populations [ 20 , 23 , 24 ]. In South Korea (Korea, hereafter), where healthcare provision is universal, food insecure individuals can access primary and routine care at an affordable rate, but they may encounter financial barriers to advanced medical services that require significant co-payments or out-of-pocket expenses [ 25 , 26 ].…”