Regional differences in primary healthcare utilization in Java Region—Indonesia

BACKGROUND: Policymakers must understand primary healthcare utilization disparity to minimize the gap because they must seek fair service for every citizen. The study analyzes regional differences in primary healthcare utilization in Java Region-Indonesia. METHODS: The cross-sectional research analyzes secondary data from the 2018 Indonesian Basic Health Survey. The study setting represented Java Region-Indonesia, and the participants were adults 15 years or more. The survey explores 629,370 respondents. The study used primary healthcare utilization as an outcome variable and province as the exposure variable. Moreover, the study employed eight control variables (residence, age, gender, education, marital, employment, wealth, and insurance). The study evaluated data using binary logistic regression in the final step. RESULTS: People in Jakarta are 1.472 times more likely to utilize primary healthcare than those in Banten (AOR 1.472; 95% CI 1.332–1.627). People in Yogyakarta are 1.267 times more likely to use primary healthcare than those in Banten (AOR 1.267; 95% CI 1.112–1.444). In addition, people in East Java are 15% less likely to utilize primary healthcare than those in Banten (AOR 0.851; 95% CI 0.783–0.924). Meanwhile, direct healthcare utilization was the same between West Java, Central Java, and Banten Province. They are sequentially starting from the minor primary healthcare utilization: East Java, Central Java, Banten, West Java, Yogyakarta, and Jakarta. CONCLUSION: Disparities between regions exist in the Java Region-Indonesia. They are sequentially starting from the minor primary healthcare utilization: East Java, Central Java, Banten, West Java, Yogyakarta, and Jakarta.