Time as a determinant for National Health Insurance Scheme Subscriber Health Care Utilization

Authors

  • Aggrey Mavis School of Medical Sciences, Department of Community Health, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana
  • Opuni Frimpong Frank Accra Polytechnic, Ghana
  • Nkum Bernard(, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah University of Science And Technology, Kumasi, Ghana

Keywords:

Ghana, Health Insurance,, Perception, Satisfaction, Health, Utilization, Time, Care, Client

Abstract

Introduction:

The Time patients spent in the utilization of health care services could be a fundamental factor that determines clients’ subscription to the National Health Insurance Scheme in Ghana. Thus, Health utilization would partly depend on clients’ perception about the number of minutes spent in accessing health care other than non-card bearers

 

Methods:

The study adopted a non-experimental design in eliciting information from involving health clients (18 to 70 years) who accessed health services in the Bantama sub-metro in the Kumasi metropolis. The sample size included 400 clients from ten health facilities. The researcher used interviews and semi-structured questionnaires to collect data and used SPSS version 20 for processing whiles descriptive and inferential statistics was supported with STATA 11.

 

Results:

Majority of subscribers assessed healthcare with their National Health Insurance (NHI) cards. Respondents 216 (54%) indicated there were delays in seeing a doctor, getting laboratories done, and accessing health care as a whole. Seventy-four percent (74%) of the entire population attributed both NHIS and cash and carry systems as the payment methods associated with delays in health facilities.

 

Conclusion:

Clients’ perceptions about how long they spend in accessing health care influences their utilization of healthcare under the National Health Insurance Scheme. Increased enrolment in the scheme should be supported with provision of efficient services that prevent delays in health care in order to enhance clients’ satisfaction.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Author Biographies

Opuni Frimpong Frank, Accra Polytechnic, Ghana

Head of Marketing Department, Accra Polytechnic

Accra Polytechnic,

Ghana

Nkum Bernard(, Dr., Kwame Nkrumah University of Science And Technology, Kumasi, Ghana

Department of Sociology and Social Work,

Faculty of Art And Social Sciences,

Kwame Nkrumah University of Science And Technology,

Kumasi, Ghana.

(M.Phil. Sociology student and Graduate Research Assistant)

References

1. WHO report 2000. Health needs and Development; Evidence, lessons and Recommendations for action as accessed @ url on the 7th February, 2014.

2. National Health Insurance Scheme, www.nhis.gov.gh

3. Buor, D. 2004. Gender And The Utilisation Of Health Services In The Ashanti Region, Ghana. Health Policy, 69, 375-388.

4. De Allegri, M., Kouyaté, B., Becher, H., Gbangou, A., Pokhrel, S., Sanon, M. & Sauerborn, R. 2006b. Understanding Enrolment In Community Health Insurance In Sub-Saharan Africa: A Population-Based Case-Control Study In Rural Burkina Faso. Bulletin Of The World Health Organization, 84, 852-858.

5. Sinha, T., Ranson, M. K., Chatterjee, M., Acharya, A. & Mills, A. J. 2006. Barriers To Accessing Benefits In A Community-Based Insurance Scheme: Lessons Learnt From Sewa Insurance, Gujarat. Health Policy And Planning, 21, 132-142.

6. Kamuzora, P. & Gilson, L. 2007. Factors Influencing Implementation Of The Community Health Fund In Tanzania. Health Policy And Planning, 22, 95-102.

7. Ndiaye, P., Soors, W. & Criel, B. 2007. Editorial: A View From Beneath: Community Health Insurance In Africa. Tropical Medicine & International Health, 12, 157-161

8. Asante, F., & Aikins, M. 2008. Does the NHIS cover the poor? . Accra: Ghana: Danida ⁄ Institute of Statistical Social and Economic Research (ISSER).

9. Lee, C. H. ,Cheng, C. L., Kao, Y. H. Y., Lin, S. J., & Lai, M. L. 2011. Validation Of The National Health Insurance Research Database With Ischemic Stroke Cases In Taiwan. Pharmacoepidemiology And Drug Safety, 20, 236-242.

10.Alatinga, K. A. & Williams, J. J. 2012. Does Membership In Mutual Health Insurance Guarantee Quality Health Care? Some Evidence From Ghana. European Journal Of Business And Social Sciences, 1, 103-118

11. Bassili, A., Dye, C.,Bierrenbach, A., Broekmans, J., Chadha, V., Glaziou, P., Gopi, P., Hosseini, M., Kim, S. & Manissero, D. 2008. Measuring Tuberculosis Burden, Trends, And The Impact Of Control Programmes. The Lancet Infectious Diseases, 8, 233-243.

12. Devadasan, N., Criel, B., Van Damme, W., Lefevre, P., Manoharan, S. & Van Der Stuyft, P. 2011. Community Health Insurance Schemes & Patient Satisfaction-Evidence From India. The Indian Journal Of Medical Research, 133, 40.

13. D. Adei, V. Osei Kwadwo and S.K. Diko 2012. An Assessment of the Kwabre District Mutual Health Insurance Scheme in Ghana. Current Research Journal of Social Sciences 4(5): 372-382
14. Turkson, P.K. (2009). Perceived Quality of Healthcare Delivery in a Rural District of Ghana.Ghana Medical Journal, 43 (2):65-70

15.Bruce, E., Narh-Bana, S. & Agyepong, I. 2008. Community Satisfaction, Equity In Coverage And Implications For Sustainability Of The Dangme West Health Insurance Scheme. Ghana Dutch Collaboration for Health Research And Development.

16. De Allegri, M., Sanon, M. & Sauerborn, R. 2006a. “To Enrol Or Not To Enrol?”: A Qualitative Investigation Of Demand For Health Insurance In Rural West Africa. Social Science & Medicine, 62, 1520-1527

Downloads

Published

2014-07-01

How to Cite

Mavis, A., Frank, O. F., & Bernard(, N. (2014). Time as a determinant for National Health Insurance Scheme Subscriber Health Care Utilization. Journal of Social Sciences (COES&Amp;RJ-JSS), 3(3), 399–407. Retrieved from https://centreofexcellence.net/index.php/JSS/article/view/jss.2014.3.3.399.407

Issue

Section

Articles