GENDER DIFFERENCES IN HEALTHCARE UTILISATION AMONG THE ELDERLY IN MALAYSIA: A DECOMPOSITION ANALYSIS

In improving the health status of the people, Malaysia continuously provides a more equitable distribution of facilities and efficient health services. Due to the increasing proportion of the aging population in the country, this paper examines the differences in the utilisation of the health services among the elderly in Malaysia and identifies the factors responsible for the observed changes between 1996 and 2006 by using the non-linear decomposition approach. The empirical analysis uses the second and third National Health and Morbidity Survey (NHMSII and NHMSIII) data which were conducted in 1996 and 2006. Overall, the findings of this research suggest that other than being sick, the raw differentials in the utilisation of healthcare among the elderly are influenced by socioeconomic status such as education, income, and job status. From this study, it is hoped that by understanding the factors that contribute to the differentials in public and private hospital admissions, and individual's behaviour towards the use of healthcare services, the government can develop strategies for eliminating socially-caused inequity in health. Reducing financial barriers to care, especially among the private health providers, may benefit the lower socioeconomic group.