Predictors of health insurance uptake among residents of Lagos, Nigeria
Introduction Health insurance is a health-financing mechanism to protect people from catastrophic healthcare costs and limits out-of-pocket spending on healthcare, which is directly linked to poverty. This study assesses the extent of health-insurance uptake and associated factors in Lagos, Nigeria....
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| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
European Publishing
2023-07-01
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| Series: | Population Medicine |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.populationmedicine.eu/Predictors-of-health-insurance-uptake-among-residents-of-Lagos-Nigeria,169666,0,2.html |
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| Summary: | Introduction
Health insurance is a health-financing
mechanism to protect people from catastrophic healthcare
costs and limits out-of-pocket spending on healthcare, which
is directly linked to poverty. This study assesses the extent
of health-insurance uptake and associated factors in Lagos,
Nigeria.
Methods
We conducted a cross-sectional survey of
consenting adults residing in Lagos, Nigeria. Participants
were enrolled at general outpatient clinics of four
public health facilities in Lagos State. Sociodemographic
characteristics and data on health-insurance uptake were
obtained and grouped into uninsured, National Health-
Insurance Scheme (NHIS) and Private Health-Insurance
(PHI). Factors associated with health-insurance uptake was
determined using chi-squared tests and logistic regression
models. Statistical significance was placed at p<0.05.
Results
A total of 1000 respondents were enrolled in the
study. Overall, 9.5% of participants had health-insurance:
NHIS (5.6%) and PHI (3.9%). Males had a higher healthinsurance
uptake than females (p=0.035). Respondents who
were married had higher odds of health-insurance uptake
than those that were single (AOR=2.23; 95% CI: 1.20–4.16;
p=0.01). Similarly, respondents who had a secondary-school
diploma had higher odds of having a health insurance
compared to those with less than a secondary-school
education (AOR=5.20; 95% CI: 1.14–23.68; p=0.03).
Conclusions
Our findings suggest a low rate of healthinsurance
uptake in the population. Being male, married
and possessing a secondary school diploma or higher were
associated with higher odds of health insurance uptake.
Policy measures should focus on expanding access to health
insurance, particularly among the less educated and the
informal employment sector. |
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| ISSN: | 2654-1459 |