Determinants of Uptake of National Hospital Insurance Fund Primary Care Health Services by Health Facilities in Nakuru Town, Kenya

Abstract

Introduction: There is a growing international consensus on the importance of providing social protection by governments and international bodies against extreme poverty, disease, inequality, and vulnerability that could be barriers to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. Of great importance is financing of healthcare services, specifically the National Health Insurance Fund primary care. Despite the provision of accessible and adequate health services being the primary goal of financing healthcare, the uptake of the primary care services scheme among service providers is still low. This paper analysis the level of uptake of National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF) primary care scheme amongst service providers in Nakuru Town. Specifically: It explains the influence of knowledge of service providers about the scheme on the uptake of NHIF primary care scheme. Methods:The study adopted a cross-sectional research design targeting 120 service providers from 60 health facilities that are accredited by National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF) within the scope of NHIF Nakuru branch. A random sample of 96 service providers was drawn from 48 health facilities. Data was collected using a structured questionnaire and an in-depth guide. Quantitative data was analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics with the aid of SPSS version 21.0. Results:The study findings indicated that there was a significant positive correlation between the knowledge of the service providers and uptake of the scheme. Conclusions:The study recommended need for the government and particularly the ministry of health to increase the level of knowledge and awareness among the general public about the membership and benefits of the scheme. Need for stakeholders to come up with mechanisms of addressing the various barriers affecting uptake of the scheme. A similar study be conducted in more health facilities in both rural and urban settings to relate the results of this study with all settings. Need for a study targeting the general public and other stakeholders to have a holistic understanding of the perception of all the critical stakeholders.