Demand for Health Care Institutions' Services: Evidence from Malaria Fever Treatment in Nigeria

This paper presents the descriptive and empirical results of a study of the demand for the health care institutions' services for malaria fever treatment in Nigeria. The empirical analysis showed that: (a) Generally, money prices are negatively related to demand for health care during episodes of malaria fever; (b) As income rises, the demand for public health care services falls while the demand for private services (except pharmacies' services) increases; (c) Except for private hospitals and pharmacies' services, higher travel times have no significant effect on the other health care services; (d) Generally, the longer the service time the lower the demand for health care institutions' services (except for public hospitals); and (e) Waiting time has a significant effect on the demand for the services of private clinics (negative) and private hospitals (positive). The policy implications of these results were discussed.