The study assessed Cameroonians’ participation in public health care services in order tograsp the distributional effects of those services. Three specific objectives are specified:determine the extent to which public spending on health care may constitute a targetedmeans for poverty reduction; identify the determinants of participation in health careservices in general and in public services in particular; and propose alternative healthcare policies compatible with the government’s concern for poverty alleviation. In abenefit incidence analysis, it is shown that the benefits acquired from using publiclyfunded health care services are globally progressive. Integrated health care centres arechosen because of their nearness. Households appreciate the quality of services providedat the peripheral health care centres. Private health care is chosen because of the qualityof the service, and people go to traditional healers or resort to self-medication because ofthe low cost. The majority of the considered factors – cost, nearness, revenue, education,age, gender and illness – had the expected sign and significantly affect the choice ofhealth care providers. But for educated individuals who are employed in the formalsector, nearness and cost are the key variables in the design of health care policies