Do Limited-Resource Hospitals Improve Medical Care Utilization in Underdeveloped Areas: Evidence From Mobile Hospitals in Indonesia

Limited physical access to health facilities contributes to inadequate medical care in low-income countries. Therefore, to fill the supply gap, the Indonesian government built limited-resource hospitals in impoverished areas. This study examines whether the existence of those hospitals improves medical care usage. Difference-in-differences adapted for continuous treatment methodologies was applied with exploitation of timing implementations of mobile hospital establishments. In the process, national representatives' survey data, hospital characteristics, and travel distance from various sources were used. Public hospitals' existence was discovered to cause substantial travel distance reduction, with outpatient and inpatient healthcare services becoming more accessible on the main islands compared with outer islands. On the basis of these results, expanding health facilities and improving infrastructures in poor regions broadly are essential for improving healthcare access.