Demand for Health Insurance among the Elderly in Nairobi City County, Kenya

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dc.contributor.authorSaiti, Nelly
dc.contributor.authorYitambe, Andrea
dc.contributor.authorKorir, Julius
dc.date.accessioned2023-05-18T10:02:18Z
dc.date.available2023-05-18T10:02:18Z
dc.date.issued2020
dc.descriptionArticleen_US
dc.description.abstractThe aging population is likely to increase the demand for health care services and social support in Kenya. As reported at the world health assembly, health systems should provide health interventions and financial protection to all individuals regardless of age. The Kenyan government has been trying to address critical issues related to older persons and their health by protecting their rights to equitable, accessible quality of health care through policy formulations such as the NSHIF bill of 2004, development of the “10/20” user fee policy at health centres and dispensaries and even incorporating their needs in the current constitution but considering the increasing number of older persons and the existing limited resources, these efforts may not be felt by most of the population more so to those who rely on their individual savings for use in accessing care. This study therefore sought to investigate demand for health insurance among the elderly in Nairobi City County, Kenya. The variables tested were socio-demographic characteristics, health system characteristics, actual barriers of health insurance ownership and their influence on the demand for health insurance. The study adopted a descriptive cross-sectional survey research design. A multi-stage sampling approach was adopted. Nairobi North administrative Unit in Nairobi City County was randomly selected as the study area. Proportionate sampling approach was used to allow for equal allocation of sample representatives in the area. Data collection tools employed both qualitative and quantitative parameters. Data was analysed using STATA to assess relationship between variables by applying the binary logistic regression technique. Thematic analysis using Nvivo 10 was done for qualitative data. The findings showed that the proportion of the elderly without health insurance cover was at 67%. Only 33% of respondents had a health insurance cover. Majority (37%) of those with a health insurance cover were covered under the National health insurance scheme. Most of the socio-demographic characteristics (age, gender, marital status and religion) were not significantly associated with demand for health insurance. For sociodemographic characteristics, income (χ 2 = 42.004a ,df=6, p=0.001) and education (χ 2 =48.572a , df=6, p=0.001) were significantly associated with demand for health insurance while for health system factors, the study found that being comfortable paying premium to health insurance firm (χ2=73.302a ,df=1, P=0.0001), health insurance affordability (χ 2 =95.262a ,df=1, P=0.001), health care workers offering information on health insurance(χ 2 =46.512a ,df=4, p=0.001) and health care providers asking for health insurance card from clients(χ 2 =37.804a ,df=4,p=0.001) were significantly associated with demand for health insurance. Age (χ 2 =4.675a df=1, p=0.031) was a barrier to health insurance demand as there was a significant relationship at 95% confidence Interval. The study found a positive relationship between odds ratio for demand for health insurance and predictors of affording health insurance premium, having knowledge of health insurance, having any post- secondary education and being comfortable paying for health insurance cover. The null hypothesis for this study was rejected as there was an association between socio- demographic characteristics, health system factors, actual barriers and demand for health insurance. Findings from the study will assist NHIF to expand their services among the elderly. A study should be done to analyse the changing patterns of health insurance demand following the recent development on health insurance subsidy program for the elderly in Kenya.en_US
dc.identifier.citationSaiti, N., Yitambe, A., & Korir, J. (2020). Demand For Health Insurance Among The Elderly In Nairobi City County, Kenya. International Journal of Innovative Research and Advanced Studies, 7(7).en_US
dc.identifier.urihttp://www.ijiras.com/2020/Vol_7-Issue_7/paper_47.pdf
dc.identifier.urihttp://ir-library.ku.ac.ke/handle/123456789/25340
dc.language.isoenen_US
dc.publisherIJIRASen_US
dc.subjectDemanden_US
dc.subjectHealth Insuranceen_US
dc.subjectElderlyen_US
dc.subjectNairobi City Countyen_US
dc.subjectKenyaen_US
dc.titleDemand for Health Insurance among the Elderly in Nairobi City County, Kenyaen_US
dc.typeArticleen_US
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