Table 1.

description of explanatory variables

Variables	Description
Illness and treatment
Type of illness	Variable with several modalities 1. Respiratory/pneumonia illnesses; 2. Malaria/fever; 3. Skin disease; 4. TB; 5. HIV/AIDS; 6. Diabetes; 7. Diarrhoea; 8. Intestinal worms; 9. Infections and injuries, 10. Cancer; 11. Hypertension; 12. Sickle Cell; 99. Others
Having a family member with a chronic illness	Binary variable = 1 if a household member has any of the following diseases: Hypertension, Diabetes, Cardiac disorders, Arthritis, HIV /AIDS, ulcers, Gout, Cancer, asthma, sinusitis, and Sickle Cell; 0 otherwise
A family member was hospitalized the last 12 months preceding survey	Binary variable = 1 if a family member was hospitalized the last 12 months preceding survey; 0 otherwise
Health System/community
Type of health facility used	Variable with several modalities 1.Self-medication, 2. Traditional healers 3. Reference hospitals 4. Dispensaries 5. District hospitals 6. Private health facilities
Distance to seek health care The health facility used is it close to place of residence?	Binary variable = 1 if the health facility used is close to place of residence; 0 otherwise.
Characteristics of the household
Household size	Continuous quantitative variable
Age of head of household	Variable with 3 modalities 1. (18–49); 2. (50–60); 3. (60 and older)
Economic status of household
Income group	Income quintile 1. Lower 2 3 4 5. Higher