Contribution of National Health Insurance Scheme Towards Access to Quality Child Health Care Services Denkyembour District, Eastern Region.

ABSTRACT

Background: Irrespective of an individual’s race, sex, religion and finances, health must be rudimentary and an indispensable benefit to all, generally making healthcare supreme to every person. Nonetheless, for the reason that children are confronted with special health problems linked to the phases of their physical and mental development, which make them vulnerable to malnourishment and infectious diseases, health care is more critical for children. Objective: To assess the contribution of NHIS towards access to quality child healthcare services at the St. Dominic Hospital in the Denkyembour District. Methods: The study adopted a facility based cross-sectional design using quantitative data collection approach with a structured questionnaire. Data was collected over one-month period. A total number of 127 participants (parents/caregivers) were selected using folders of children enrolled on NHIS attending St. Dominic Hospital by using a simple random sampling technique. Stratified sampling technique was also be used to sample parents who have enrolled their children; and parents who have not enrolled their children onto the NHIS, to solicit their views on the topic under study. Descriptive statistics such as means ± SD, cross-tabulations, tables, frequency and percentage ages was used to describe demographic characteristics of the study population. The chi square test and t-test statistics was used to determine association between each independent variable (socio-economic characteristics, difference in perception, geographic and health care facility factors); and dependent variable (quality healthcare delivery [QHD]). Multiple logistic regressions was used to determine the strength of association between dependent variable (QHD) and independent variables (socioeconomic characteristics, geographic, difference in perception and healthcare facility factors). P-values was determined for each independent variable and statistical significance was accepted at a 5percent probability level (p≤0.05). Results: Socio-demographic factors of paarents (parent age; educational level, marital status, employment status) and distance from respondents’ residence to NHIS accredited health facilities significantly influence child enrolment and utilisation of quality child health care via the scheme (p=0.05). Further, there is significant differences in the perceptions of parents of insured and uninsured children of the quality of child healthcare they received. Conclusion: The contribution of national health insurance scheme towards access to quality child health care services in the Denkyembour District was generally perceived to be good especially among parents who live close to an accredited NHIS facility. The rude and inconsiderate attitude of health personnel threatens the contribution of NHIS towards access to quality child health care services. Overall, the quality of care of services derived from enrolling children onto NHIS was good (71.65%). The study recommends that policy makers and management of the health institutions consider the factors outlined in this study when formulating policies towards increasing access to healthcare for children.