Gender Dynamics in Healthcare Utilization: Assessing the Coverage and Experiences of Women under PM Jan Arogya Yojana

Abstract

A major goal of modern-day public health policy is to provide equitable access to healthcare; this is especially true in developing countries where gender-based inequities continue to have an impact on demand for and the use of healthcare services. In India, the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PM-JAY) program created under the Ayushman Bharat initiative was created to improve financial security for vulnerable populations by expanding access to secondary and tertiary health care services. The expansion of the PM-JAY program has improved insurance coverage and reduced financial barriers for millions of households, but there still exists a question whether the expansion of PM-JAY program has resulted in equal health care service utilization by women. The purpose of this research is to examine the impact of gender on the use of health care services by women who are covered by the PM-JAY program. The study will explore the various factors (social norms, household decision-making, institutional arrangements and economics) and relationships that may impede women from accessing health care services even though they are entitled to receive publicly funded health care services. Special attention will be focused on understanding the difference between Policy coverage and actual utilization of health care services. The design of the study is qualitative and analytical and will be based on a review of policy documents, government reports, public health journals, and recent scholarship related to gender and health care utilization. A gender-sensitive analytical framework was applied to evaluate the use of health services by women and to identify the structural barriers to women’s experiences in accessing these services. The analysis suggests that PM-JAY has contributed to helping reduce direct financial constraints on access to healthcare and helps improve healthcare accessibility. Nonetheless, women continue to experience challenges connecting with healthcare services due to barriers regarding: awareness of services; mobility; responsiveness of institutions; and unequal decision-making authority within households. Additionally, the utilization of health services is impacted by a variety of social conditions and regional characteristics. The conclusion of this study is that health insurance coverage alone does not provide the means for achieving gender equity in health outcomes; outreach to improve awareness of services; improving the responsiveness of services to women; and enhancing monitoring methods to be specific to women must all contribute to allowing formal entitlements to healthcare be effectively and equitably utilized.