Health care seeking behavior, utilization and its associated are important for the economic development of a country. However, the subject has not caught enough attention in Pakistan. Therefore, current research study is implemented in the rural areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Pakistan. The study used mixed method approach and data were collected from 278 respondents and 20 key informants. Data were analyzed through descriptive statistics and thematic analysis. The use of formal health facilities was found a bit high (56%) as compared to the informal healthcare facilities (44%). The private healthcare utilization was high as compared to government healthcare facilities. Gender, education, income, and location were found as the important factors affecting healthcare utilization in the study area. It is concluded that although rural people tend to utilize formal healthcare, but still the informal system is active. Therefore, the government healthcare system must emphasize on quality and timely service provision.

| Women served as the major participant in livestock management at the domestic level and supporting rural livelihoods with the provision of multiple products for consumption and sale. However, the question arises that women’s participation in livestock management has some relation to their empowerment or it is not a debatable issue. To address the issue, this research is carried out in the tribal areas of Pakistan for which data were collected from 323 randomly selected female respondents from 323 randomly selected households in Mohmand Agency. The collected data were analyzed using percent participation, descriptive statistics, and Decision Making Index (DMI). The results showed that the decisions related to livestock management were mostly taken by both women and men jointly (44%), followed by men alone (27 %) and women (25%) independently. It has been found that six kinds of livestock management activities such as milk/by-products and its marketing, milk handling and processing, animal health problems, animals keeping place, and number and breed of animals were more significant for assessing women empowerment as depicted by the high DMI value of above 0.80. Moderate level of women empowerment was observed in the activities of animals’ purchase (0.57), animals’ sale (0.59), and livestock income utilization (0.63) due to their low level of mobility and technical know-how. Almost all the household activities were directly related to the power of men due to the DMI value of below 0.50. The average DMI was 0.98 for livestock management activities as compared to 0.42 for household matters which indicate that women were enjoying a high level of decision-making power/empowerment in livestock management as compared to household matters. The study concludes that women’s participation enhances women’s empowerment. However, the provision of technical knowledge and guidance to women are suggested to increase their participation in the decisions related to livestock management activities and ultimately for women empowerment. Moreover, there is still a need to enhance women’s decision-making power at the household level for the development of Pakistani society.

Current study investigated prevalence of anemia and its determinants among the rural women of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa-Pakistan. Anmeia is a major public health concern in the country, however there is a lack of research studies in the rural settings. For the prevalence of anemia, 100 respondents provided blood samples and a questionnaire was also filled from each respondent. For the determinants of anemia, key informant interviews (10) from the lady doctors were conducted. It was found that more than half of the respondents were anemic as their hemoglobin was <12.0 g/dl. Socioeconomic status, cultural and gender norms, dietary factors, reproductive factors, and other factors were the important determinants of anemia among the rural women. The study calls for the developmental interventions like improved access to iron-rich foods, promotion of education and awareness, enhancement of healthcare services, and addressing of gender disparities in the study area to combat anemia.

The current study investigated factors affecting the choice of delivery among rural women in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. The reason behind the election of this research study lies in the high rates of maternal mortality which is due to the various barriers or challenging factors which limit the access of women to healthcare services during childbirth. The study used thematic analysis for the data collected through key informant interviews from lady health workers and doctors. Various socioeconomic, distance and transport, financial, and patriarchal factors were identified as responsible for the preference of home delivery among women in the study area. The study suggested for women’s economic empowerment, promotion of gender equality, improvement in affordability and accessibility of healthcare services, strengthening of healthcare infrastructure, enhancing transportation options, and raising awareness about facility-based deliveries.

Current study has examined the determinants of healthcare seeking behaviour of rural women in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. For this, data were collected from 178 respondents using a questionnaire and key informants interviews i.e. lady health workers (10) and doctors (10). For data analysis, descriptive statistics and thematic analysis were used. It was found that majority of the respondents did not sought immediate healthcare. Various themes have been identified through thematic analysis such as social, cultural and economic factors which influence healthcare seeking behavior of rural women in the study area. Social factors included gender and patriarchy, while restricted mobility, low educational status, and non-preference of women healthcare needs were encompassed by cultural factors. Economic factors comprised of affordability and availability of transportation. Therefore, appropriate and long term planning and execution from the formal health care system of the province in the light of current study findings are suggested.