Data on Health Planning and Management Discussed by Researchers at University College London (Mobile money use and social health insurance enrolment among rural dwellers outside the formal employment sector: Evidence from Kenya)

2019 NOV 27 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Daily News -- Research findings on Health and Medicine - Health Planning and Management are discussed in a new report. According to news originating from London, United Kingdom, by NewsRx correspondents, research stated, “The study set out to explore whether mobile money use (mobile phone-based financial services) increased the probability of rural dwellers outside the formal employment sector of being enrolled in Kenya’s social health insurance, the National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF). We used data from the 2015 FinAccess Household Survey and analysed responses of 4282 rural individuals outside the formal employment sector.”

Our news journalists obtained a quote from the research from University College London, “Probit and bivariate probit models were used and adjusted for mobile phone ownership, sex, age, age-squared, education, wealth quintile, bank account use, informal group membership, occupation, and health shocks. We found that 16.26% (95% CI, 14.58% to 18.10%) of mobile money users had NHIF cover as compared with 2.44% (95% CI, 1.83% to 3.23%) of nonusers. Importantly, mobile money use increased the probability of being enrolled in NHIF by 4.6% (95% CI, 2.1% to 7.1%) after controlling for confounders. Access to mobile money was associated with reduced travel time and lower transport costs, which are likely to be key mechanisms for increasing NHIF enrolment.”

According to the news editors, the research concluded: “By lowering transport costs and saving travel time, mobile money provides an easy means to pay social health insurance premiums thus incentivising its uptake among rural people outside of formal employment.”

For more information on this research see: Mobile money use and social health insurance enrolment among rural dwellers outside the formal employment sector: Evidence from Kenya. The International Journal of Health Planning and Management, 2019;():. The International Journal of Health Planning and Management can be contacted at: John Wiley & Sons LTD, the Atrium, Southern Gate, Chichester PO19 8SQ, W Sussex, England.

The news correspondents report that additional information may be obtained from M. Obadha, Institute for Global Health, University College, London, UK. Additional authors for this research include T. Colbourn and A. Seal.

The direct object identifier (DOI) for that additional information is: https://doi.org/10.1002/hpm.2930. This DOI is a link to an online electronic document that is either free or for purchase, and can be your direct source for a journal article and its citation.

The publisher’s contact information for the The International Journal of Health Planning and Management is: John Wiley & Sons LTD, the Atrium, Southern Gate, Chichester PO19 8SQ, W Sussex, England.

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