The health equity analyses in this report seek to provide evidence about the utilization of health services.
The analyses look into people’s responsiveness to illness and health services, as well as the accessibility
of services. Out-of-pocket (OOP) spending on health looks at the costs incurred to the population for the
use of health services. The objective is to explore whether OOP has catastrophic or impoverishment
effects on the population. Results arising from these analyses will certainly be useful (we hope) for health
policy makers, and vital for any calls for reformation of the health system.
The healthy equity analyses methods adopted here mirror the methodological approach presented in the
World Bank report “Analyzing Health equity Using Household Survey Data” by Adam Wagstaff and
colleagues (2008). In this report the analysis focuses primarily on health care utilization, out-of-pocket
expenditures for health, and their catastrophic or impoverishment impacts.
The 2010 Papua New Guinea (PNG) Household Income and Expenditure Survey (HIES) data is ideal for
Health Equity Analysis for several reasons. The HIES (i) is the most recent dataset that contains a national
representative sample, (ii) contains information related to health utilization, expenditure and consumption,
and (iii) includes both government and non-government healthcare facilities. The HIES data is thus the
most comprehensive and useful source for estimating utilization and spending on health services.