Food Insecurity and Healthcare Utilization in Indonesia: Evidence from Indonesian National Household Surveys

Abstract

Treatment for sicknesses in healthcare is a crucial determinant to improve health. In Indonesia, the unmet need for healthcare is common for people in the lower economic group. This study aims to examine how food insecurity affects outpatient care using the indicators of food insecurity to highlight individuals with high health risks and experiencing problems with limited resources. The data used in this study consisted of 159,236 individuals representing different age ranges from the 2017 National Socio-Economic Survey (SUSENAS) and the 2018 Village Potential Census (PODES). Data were analyzed using ivprobit to address bias due to the endogeneity in the food insecurity variables. The results indicate that a higher food insecurity score will increase the chances of not accessing modern healthcare for outpatient care when sick. Several variables like sex, types of residence, number of household members living together, access to healthcare, health insurance, social protection, and illness characteristic were also found to influence individual behavior in not utilizing modern healthcare for outpatient care. This study suggests that policymakers should pay attention to the utilization of modern healthcare, especially for outpatient care in groups experiencing food insecurity.