News

Timor-Leste is a country in Southeast Asia, which adopts a tax-based health system with free health care at the point of service. However, Timor-Leste has not yet achieved elimination of inequalities in the utilisation of health services. This study aims to assess the level of health care utilisation in Timor-Leste and the factors that drive it. The findings show that need was the main driver in health seeking for both primary care and hospital care. Rural households were less likely to go to hospital in compared to urban households. The poorest quintile was less likely to use hospital services in compared to other quintile groups. Thus, it can be concluded that the public resources for health care are regressive and the other costs of health care (e.g., distance barriers) need to be reduced in Timor-Leste. For more information, please click the link below.