Utilisation of Ayush Systems of Medicine in North-east India: Study From Economic Perspectives
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: Background: North-East India has unique sociocultural traditions and has many alternative complementary medicines practice, which falls under the AYUSH systems. However, empirical findings on the utilisation of AYUSH systems in North-East India remain limited. Objectives: This study aims to find the utilisation patterns of AYUSH systems in North-East India and analyse the economic and demographic factors influencing individuals' choice of AYUSH systems. Methods: for this study, the NSS 79th round data set was used and applied multinomial logistic regression. For this regression, four mutually exclusive outcome categories are Ayurveda, Homoeopathy, Naturopathy and Other systems like Yoga, Unani, Siddha and Sowa-Rigpa. Independent variables are age, gender, locality, education, religion, and economic status, which is based on monthly household consumer expenditure and means of livelihood. Results: Ayurveda (58.06%) appeared as the most utilised AYUSH system, followed by Homoeopathy and Naturopathy. Utilisation of AYUSH systems of medicine is dominated by females, rural respondents. Those who have attained primary/middle school level education utilise more AYUSH systems. People who are of a poor economic status exhibited more utilisation of Ayurveda, Homoeopathy and Naturopathy. Conclusion: The study exhibited that strong heterogeneity is present in AYUSH utilisation across socioeconomic and demographic groups in North-East India. This study furnishes some policy measures to enhance the utilisation of AYUSH healthcare in this region. Keywords: AYUSH Healthcare, Utilisation of Ayurveda-Homoeopathy-Naturopathy, North-East India, NSS, Multinomial logistic regression. JEL Classification: I110, I180
Author: Subham Paul
Language: English
Subfield: Complementary and alternative medicine
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W7217469863