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Effect of informal financial support for health care on health Insurance uptake: Evidence from a mixed-methods study in Tamale metropolis of northern Ghana

Alhassan, Yussif ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4155-546X (2018) 'Effect of informal financial support for health care on health Insurance uptake: Evidence from a mixed-methods study in Tamale metropolis of northern Ghana'. The International Journal of Health Planning and Management, Vol 33, Issue 4, e930-e943.

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Abstract

Attempts to study the determinants of health insurance enrollment in resource‐poor settings have often given less consideration to the potential influence of informal risk‐sharing systems on individuals and households' decisions about health insurance. This paper contributes to existing discussions in this area by examining the effect of informal financial support for health care, an example of informal risk‐sharing arrangement, on enrollment in the Ghana National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS). It is based on a mixed‐methods research in Tamale metropolis of northern Ghana. The study found widespread availability and reliance on informal support among low‐income households to finance out‐of‐pocket health‐care expenditure. Informal financial support for enrollment into the NHIS was noted to be less available. The study further found less strong but suggestive evidence that the perceived availability of informal financial support for health care by individuals diminishes their enrollment in the NHIS. The paper emphasizes the need for theory and policy on health insurance uptake in resource‐constrained settings to consider existing informal risk‐sharing arrangements as much as other known determinants of enrollment.

Item Type: Article
Subjects: W General Medicine. Health Professions > Health Services. Patients and Patient Advocacy > W 85 Patients. Attitude and compliance
W General Medicine. Health Professions > W 74 Medical economics. Health care costs
W General Medicine. Health Professions > W 21 Medicine as a profession.
WA Public Health > WA 30 Socioeconomic factors in public health (General)
WA Public Health > Health Administration and Organization > WA 525 General works
WA Public Health > Health Administration and Organization > WA 546 Local Health Administration. Community Health Services
Faculty: Department: Clinical Sciences & International Health > Clinical Sciences Department
Clinical Sciences & International Health > International Public Health Department
Digital Object Identifer (DOI): https://doi.org/10.1002/hpm.2563
SWORD Depositor: JISC Pubrouter
Depositing User: Stacy Murtagh
Date Deposited: 11 Jul 2018 11:59
Last Modified: 03 Jul 2019 01:02
URI: https://archive.lstmed.ac.uk/id/eprint/8897

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