This article explores the phenomenon of companionship as an adaptation strategy to counter the existing barriers to health care access in developing nations. Companionship is argued to be an outcome of "inter" and "intra" household collaboration to offer diverse supports in addition to altruism. The analysis of the household survey conducted in West Bengal, India, exhibited different patterns of health care tours and the associated dependencies. In addition to support in terms of mobility while traveling and companionship while waiting for the opportunity, support in terms of refuge is also found to be essential, especially for the poor while they undertake regional tours. Causal models focusing on aggregated general health tours and specific regional tours were estimated separately to comprehend the implicit social interactions and their effects on the patient as well as the companions. The research demonstrated that accessibility barriers affect not only the ill, but also those associated with them and at times adversely. Segregation of regional tours illustrated the gaps, which instigated such tours and also might aid in health infrastructure planning as a whole.
Keywords: Outpatient health-seeking tours; accessibility barriers; companionship; dependency; social interaction.