University of Ghana Reports Findings in Health Services (Effect of social capital on enrolment of informal sector occupational groups in the national health insurance scheme in Ghana: a cross-sectional survey): Health and Medicine – Health Services

Health & Medicine Business Daily

2024 MAY 13 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Health & Medicine Business Daily -- New research on Health and Medicine - Health Services is the subject of a report. According to news reporting from Accra, Ghana, by NewsRx journalists, research stated, “Enrolment of informal sector workers in Ghana’s National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) is critical to achieving increased risk-pooling and attainment of Universal Health Coverage. However, the NHIS has struggled over the years to improve enrolment of this subpopulation.”

The news correspondents obtained a quote from the research from the University of Ghana, “This study analysed effect of social capital on enrolment of informal sector workers in the NHIS. A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 528 members of hairdressers and beauticians, farmers, and commercial road transport drivers’ groups. Descriptive statistics, principal component analysis, and multinomial logit regression model were used to analyse the data. Social capital including membership in occupational group, trust, and collective action were significantly associated with enrolment in the NHIS, overall. Other factors such as household size, education, ethnicity, and usual source of health care were, however, correlated with both enrolment and dropout. Notwithstanding these factors, the chance of enrolling in the NHIS and staying active was 44.6% higher for the hairdressers and beauticians; the probability of dropping out of the scheme was 62.9% higher for the farmers; and the chance of never enrolling in the scheme was 22.3% higher for the commercial road transport drivers. Social capital particularly collective action and predominantly female occupational groups are key determinants of informal sector workers’ participation in the NHIS. Policy interventions to improve enrolment of this subpopulation should consider group enrolment, targeting female dominated informal sector occupational groups.”

According to the news reporters, the research concluded: “Further studies should consider inclusion of mediating and moderating variables to provide a clearer picture of the relationship between occupational group social capital and enrolment in health insurance schemes.”

For more information on this research see: Effect of social capital on enrolment of informal sector occupational groups in the national health insurance scheme in Ghana: a cross-sectional survey. BMC Health Services Research, 2024;24(1):546. BMC Health Services Research can be contacted at: Bmc, Campus, 4 Crinan St, London N1 9XW, England. (BioMed Central - http://www.biomedcentral.com/; BMC Health Services Research - http://www.biomedcentral.com/bmchealthservres/)

Our news journalists report that additional information may be obtained by contacting Eric Nsiah-Boateng, Dept. of Health Policy, Planning and Management, School of Public Health, University of Ghana, Legon, Accra, Ghana. Additional authors for this research include Patricia Akweongo, Justice Nonvignon and Moses Aikins.

The direct object identifier (DOI) for that additional information is: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-024-11025-9. 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.