Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/299480 
Year of Publication: 
2023
Series/Report no.: 
IDB Working Paper Series No. IDB-WP-01513
Publisher: 
Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), Washington, DC
Abstract: 
Understanding health-seeking behaviors and their drivers is key for governments to manage health policies. There is a growing literature on the role of cognitive biases and heuristics in health and care-seeking behaviors, but little is known of how they might be influenced during a context of heightened anxiety and uncertainty. This study analyzes the relationship between four behavioral predictors - the internal locus of control, impatience, optimism bias, and aspirations - and healthcare decisions among low-income women in El Salvador. We find positive associations between 'internal locus of control and preventive health behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic (use of masks, distance, hand washing, and COVID-19 vaccination) and in general (prenatal checkups, iron-rich diets for children and hypertension tests). Measures of impatience negatively correlate with COVID-19 prevention behaviors and mothers' micronutrient treatment adherence for children, and optimism bias and educational aspirations with healthcare-seeking behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic. Some associations were more robust during the pandemic, suggesting that feelings of uncertainty and stress could enhance behavioral drivers' influence on health-related behaviors, a novel and relevant finding in the literature relevant for the design of policy responses for future shocks.
Subjects: 
healthcare decision-making
behavioral economics
COVID-19
low-income setting
Latin America
El Salvador
JEL: 
I12
D10
D91
I30
Persistent Identifier of the first edition: 
Creative Commons License: 
cc-by Logo
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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