Research on Public Health Reported by Researchers at Pokhara University (Adopting social health insurance in Nepal: A mixed study): Health and Medicine – Public Health

2022 DEC 30 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Daily News -- Investigators discuss new findings in public health. According to news originating from Pokhara University by NewsRx editors, the research stated, “ObjectiveThe Social Health Insurance Program (SHIP) shares a major portion of social security, and is also key to Universal Health Coverage (UHC) and health equity. The Government of Nepal launched SHIP in the Fiscal Year 2015/16 for the first phase in three districts, on the principle of financial risk protection through prepayment and risk pooling in health care. Furthermore, the adoption of the program depends on the stakeholders’ behaviors, mainly, the beneficiaries and the providers.”

Our news correspondents obtained a quote from the research from Pokhara University: “Therefore, we aimed to explore and assess their perception and experiences regarding various factors acting on SHIP enrollment and adherence. MethodsA cross-sectional, facility-based, concurrent mixed-methods study was carried out in seven health facilities in the Kailali, Baglung, and Ilam districts of Nepal. A total of 822 beneficiaries, sampled using probability proportional to size (PPS), attending health care institutions, were interviewed using a structured questionnaire for quantitative data. A total of seven focus group discussions (FGDs) and 12 in-depth interviews (IDIs), taken purposefully, were conducted with beneficiaries and service providers, using guidelines, respectively. Quantitative data were entered into Epi-data and analyzed with SPSS, MS-Excel, and Epitools, an online statistical calculator. Manual thematic analysis with predefined themes was carried out for qualitative data. Percentage, frequency, mean, and median were used to describe the variables, and the Chi-square test and binary logistic regression were used to infer the findings. We then combined the qualitative data from beneficiaries’ and providers’ perceptions, and experiences to explore different aspects of health insurance programs as well as to justify the quantitative findings. Results and prospectsOf a total of 822 respondents (insured-404, uninsured-418), 370 (45%) were men. Families’ median income was USD $65.96 (8.30-290.43). The perception of insurance premiums did not differ between the insured and uninsured groups (p = 0.53). Similarly, service utilization (OR = 220.4; 95% CI, 123.3-393.9) and accessibility (OR = 74.4; 95% CI, 42.5-130.6) were found to have high odds among the insured as compared to the uninsured respondents. Qualitative findings showed that the coverage and service quality were poor. Enrollment was gaining momentum despite nearly a one-tenth (9.1%) dropout rate. Moreover, different aspects, including provider-beneficiary communication, benefit packages, barriers, and ways to go, are discussed. Additionally, we also argue for some alternative health insurance schemes and strategies that may have possible implications in our contexts. ConclusionAlthough enrollment is encouraging, adherence is weak, with a considerable dropout rate and poor renewal.”

According to the news reporters, the research concluded: “Patient management strategies and insurance education are recommended urgently. Furthermore, some alternate schemes and strategies may be considered.”

For more information on this research see: Adopting social health insurance in Nepal: A mixed study. Frontiers in Public Health, 2022,10. (Frontiers in Public Health - http://journal.frontiersin.org/journal/public-health). The publisher for Frontiers in Public Health is Frontiers Media S.A.

A free version of this journal article is available at https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2022.978732.

Our news editors report that more information may be obtained by contacting Damaru Prasad Paneru, School of Health and Allied Sciences, Pokhara University, Pokhara, Nepal. Additional authors for this research include Chiranjivi Adhikari, Sujan Poudel, Lal Mani Adhikari, Deepak Neupane, Juli Bajracharya, Kalpana Jnawali, Kamal Prasad Chapain, Nabaraj Paudel, Nirdesh Baidhya, Ashok Rawal.

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