The Impact of Recall Periods on Reported Morbidity and Health Seeking Behavior
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Between 2000 and 2002, the authors
followed 1621 individuals in Delhi, India using a
combination of weekly and monthly-recall health
questionnaires. In 2008, they augmented these data with
another 8 weeks of surveys during which households were
experimentally allocated to surveys with different recall
periods in the second half of the survey. This paper shows
that the length of the recall period had a large impact on
reported morbidity, doctor visits, time spent sick, whether
at least one day of work/school was lost due to sickness,
and the reported use of self-medication. The effects are
more pronounced among the poor than the rich. In one
example, differential recall effects across income groups
reverse the sign of the gradient between doctor visits and
per-capita expenditures such that the poor use health care
providers more than the rich in the weekly recall surveys
but less in monthly recall surveys. The authors hypothesize
that illnesses -- especially among the poor -- are no longer
perceived as "extraordinary events" but have
become part of "normal" life. They discuss the
implications of these results for health survey methodology,
and the economic interpretation of sickness in poor populations.
Palabras clave
ACCESS TO HEALTH CARE, ACUTE ILLNESSES, AILMENT, AILMENTS, ALLOPATHIC MEDICINE, AMBULATORY MEDICAL CARE, ASTHMA, CHRONIC ILLNESS, CHRONIC ILLNESSES, DEBT, DIABETES, DIAGNOSIS, DISABILITY, DISEASE, DISEASE BURDEN, DOCTOR, DOCTORS, DRINKING WATER, DYSENTERY, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, EMPLOYMENT, EXPENDITURES, FAMILIES, FATIGUE, FEMALE, FLUSH TOILETS, GENDER, HEALTH BEHAVIOR, HEALTH BURDEN, HEALTH BURDENS, HEALTH CARE, HEALTH CARE ACCESS, HEALTH CARE DEMAND, HEALTH CARE EXPENDITURES, HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS, HEALTH CARE UTILIZATION, HEALTH CONDITIONS, HEALTH ECONOMICS, HEALTH EXPENDITURE, HEALTH EXPENDITURES, HEALTH INEQUALITY, HEALTH INSURANCE, HEALTH ORGANIZATION, HEALTH OUTCOMES, HEALTH SEEKING BEHAVIOR, HEALTH SERVICES, HEALTH STATUS, HEALTH SURVEYS, HEALTH WORKERS, HEALTH-SEEKING BEHAVIOR, HOUSEHOLD STRUCTURE, HOUSEHOLDS, HUMAN DEVELOPMENT, HUMAN RESOURCES, ILLNESS, ILLNESSES, INCOME, INDIVIDUAL CHARACTERISTICS, INFECTIONS, LOCALITIES, MEDICAL CARE, MEDICAL FACILITIES, MEDICAL PRACTICE, MEDICAL PRACTITIONERS, MEDICAL SERVICES, MEDICINES, MIGRATION, MORBIDITY, MYOCARDIAL INFARCTION, NEIGHBORHOODS, NUTRITION, PATIENT, PATIENTS, PHYSICIAN, PRIMARY CARE, PROBABILITY, RESPIRATORY ILLNESSES, SCREENING, SLUMS, TB, TRADITIONAL MEDICINE, TREATMENT, TUBERCULOSIS, URBAN POPULATION, USE OF HEALTH SERVICES, VILLAGES, WOMAN, WORKERS