Accessibility and utilization: geographical perspectives on health care delivery

Examines some of the many factors which influence the use of health service by consumers. In particular, the spatial aspects of health care and the ways in which the organization of health care delivery can affect utilization are discussed. Methods of analyzing the measuring accessibility to health care facilities are explained, and the effects of distance on utilization, especially in underdeveloped countries, is examined. Examples of health care systems include those from: China, Thailand, the USSR, Britain, and the USA. Particular attention is given to the place of primary health care in servicing the needs of the population, and the role of traditional medicine in some countries. Current phenomena such as privatization and rising costs in health care are also considered. -after Publishers