Researchers at Jigjiga University Have Published New Data on Health Economics (Pooled coverage of community based health insurance scheme enrolment in Ethiopia, systematic review and meta-analysis, 2016-2020): Economics – Health Economics

2022 AUG 03 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Daily News -- New study results on health economics have been published. According to news reporting out of Jigjiga University by NewsRx editors, research stated, “Community Based Health Insurance (CBHI) is a type of health insurance program that provides financial protection against the cost of illness and improving access to health care services for communities engaged in the informal sector. In Ethiopia, the coverage of CBHI enrolment varies across regions and decision of household enrolment is affected by different factors.”

Our news journalists obtained a quote from the research from Jigjiga University: “There are pocket studies on CBHI scheme with different coverage in Ethiopia and there is no pooled study on CBHI enrolment coverage in Ethiopia for better understanding the scheme and decision making. The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to identify the pooled coverage of CBHI enrolment in Ethiopia to understand its policy implications. The systematic review and meta-analysis was done by adhering the PRISMA guideline with exhaustive search in PubMed/Medline, HINARI, SCOPUS and Google scholar complemented by manual search. Two authors independently selected studies, extracted data, and assessed quality of studies. The I2 test statistic was used to test heterogeneity among studies. The overall coverage of CBHI scheme was estimated by using random-effects model. Among 269 identified, 17 studies were included in this meta-analysis and the overall coverage of CBHI scheme was 45% (95% CI 35%, 55%) in Ethiopia. The sub-group analysis shows higher enrolment rate 55.97 (95%CI: 41.68, 69.77) in earlier (2016-2017) studies than recent 37.33 (95%CI: 24.82, 50.77) studies (2018-2020).”

According to the news reporters, the research concluded: “The pooled coverage of CBHI enrolment is low in Ethiopia compared the national target of 80% set for 2020. It is also concentrated in only major regions of the country. The finding of the study helps national decision making for CBHI scheme service improvement. Due attention to be given to improving geographic expansion of CBHI and to the declining coverages with in the CBHI implementing regions by addressing the main bottlenecks restraining coverages. Trial registration The protocol of this systematic review and meta-analysis was published in PROSPERO with registration number: CRD42021252762 .”

For more information on this research see: Pooled coverage of community based health insurance scheme enrolment in Ethiopia, systematic review and meta-analysis, 2016-2020. Health Economics Review, 2022,12(1):1-10. (Health Economics Review - https://healtheconomicsreview.biomedcentral.com/). The publisher for Health Economics Review is BMC.

A free version of this journal article is available at https://doi.org/10.1186/s13561-022-00386-8.

Our news editors report that additional information may be obtained by contacting Ahmed Tahir, Public Health Department, College of Medicine and Health Science, Jigjiga University. Additional authors for this research include Abdulahi Omer Abdilahi, Abdifatah Elmi Farah.

(Our reports deliver fact-based news of research and discoveries from around the world.)