Health Care During Financial Crisis : What Can We Learn from the Indonesian National Socioeconomic Survey?
This paper presents the results of a trend analysis of key health indicators in Indonesia. The analysis is based on data from the National Socioeconomic Survey for Indonesia (SUSENAS) for the years 1995, 1997, and 1998. The analysis is part of an effort to monitor the impact of the country's current economic crisis on health outcomes and to identify groups that may have benefited or been disadvantaged in recent years. The economic crisis could affect health outcomes in a number of ways. Changes in employment patterns and incomes that occurred as a result of the crisis are likely to have had an effect on health outcomes and the demand for health care. In this paper, the authors attempt to analyze the health information available through the SUSENAS to establish baselines against which to compare future trends and possible impacts on the health sector. The paper discusses some possible hypotheses for how the crisis may be affecting health care utilization.