Financial Benefits of Enlisting in Mutual Health Schemes among Low-Income Households in Kirinyaga County, Kenya
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Date
2018
Authors
Munyua, Timothy
Yitambe, Andrew
Rucha, Kenneth
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
IPRJB
Abstract
Abstract
Purpose: Examining the financial benefits of enlisting in mutual health schemes among lowincome households in Kirinyaga County
Material and methods: Descriptive cross-sectional study design was employed, where 315
participants were picked using multistage sampling techniques. Semi-structured questionnaire and
in-depth interviews were the primary data collection methods, with both descriptive and inferential
statistics being employed at the analytic stage.
Results: Results indicate that 59.3% of households utilising out-of-pocket benefited from
membership to cushion their family from difficulties of accessing healthcare services. Other
financial benefits include protection against the cost of illness, providing access to prioritised care,
third-party influence for non-members to subscribe, and productive value such as accessing quality
treatment, improving living standards, avoiding debts, and increasing their saving kitty. Enlisting to
MHO also reduced gender-based, education-based, and cadre-based sociodemographic
differentials.
Recommendations: While MHOs are critical in reducing household healthcare expense,
improving financial accessibility, as well as redressing sociodemographic differentials during careseeking events among low-income households, there is a need for preparing reports on
beneficiaries to help the management understand social dynamics surrounding the operations of the
schemes. There is also a need for investigating healthcare seeking behaviours of beneficiaries as
some persons did not utilise mutual schemes. There is also need for further research to validate the
contribution of mutual health schemes in other areas as well as assess strategies of increasing the
access for all socioeconomic factions
Description
Article
Keywords
Out-of-Pocket Payments, Mutual Health Organization, Catastrophic Health Expenditure
Citation
Munyua, T., Rucha, K., & Yitambe, A. (2018). FINANCIAL BENEFITS OF ENLISTING IN MUTUAL HEALTH SCHEMES AMONG LOW-INCOME HOUSEHOLDS IN KIRINYAGA COUNTY, KENYA. Global Journal of Health Sciences, 3(2), 39-53.