Principal Investigator: Ilias Kyriopoulos, Mylene Lagarde, Asif Imitiaz (PI)
Start Date: June 2024
End Date: March 2025
Funder: LSE Research and Impact Support Fund 2024
Region: Bangladesh

The lack and maldistribution of professional healthcare providers in Bangladesh has gradually led to the proliferation of informal providers – individuals with no recognised medical training–  who are used by the population to obtain medical advice and medicines, particularly in rural areas¹. While many argue that informal providers may hinder improvement in health outcomes, little is known about the relative quality and efficiency of treatment provided by these informal providers compared to formal providers. One question is whether those providers are more or less responsive to the needs of clients. Of particular interest in the context of the patriarchal norms prevalent in rural Bangladesh, is whether informal providers perpetuate or attenuate the discriminatory traditional gender norms in healthcare provision. This project aims to inform the design of health policies in Bangladesh by answering two critical questions:

• How do informal and formal providers in Bangladesh compare in terms of treatment quality and cost?

• Do women who are not accompanied by family escort receive lower quality care?