Journal Article

Predictors of enrollment in a health protection scheme among informal sector workers in Kumasi Metropolis of Ghana

Adei, Dina, Mensah, Anthony Acquah, Agyemang-Duah, Williams

2019

Overview

Objective Informal sector workers are exposed to occupational hazards which could escalate their healthcare expenditures. Thus, enrollment in a health protection scheme among informal sector workers is useful for reducing their catastrophic healthcare expenditures. However, there is scant information on factors predicting their enrollment in the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) in Ghana, a gap this quantitative study aims to fill. A sample of 350 informal sector workers was involved in a cross-sectional survey. Results Approximately 17% of the participants were enrolled in NHIS. Respondents who had worked between 5 and 7 years were significantly more likely to enroll in NHIS compared with those who had worked below 2 years ( AOR = 13.159, CI 1.135–152.596, p = 0.039). The study further found that apprentices (AOR = 0.72, CI 0.353–1.056, p = 0.005) were less likely to enroll in NHIS compared with their masters. Participants who were exposed to electrical hazards (AOR = 2.93, CI 1.56–5.10, p = 0.013) and suffered from occupational diseases (AOR = 2.75, CI 1.743–5.17, p = 0.001) were significantly more likely to enroll in NHIS. Also, respondents who were non-Christians were significantly less likely to enroll in NHIS compared with their respective counterparts (AOR = 0.726, CI 0.067–2.503, p = 0.011). The findings are useful for increasing the NHIS enrollment rate among informal sector workers in Ghana.

• Publisher: BioMed Central,BioMed Central Ltd,Springer Nature B.V,BMC
• Subject: Adult / Apprenticeship / Apprenticeship programs / Biohazards / Biomedical and Life Sciences / Biomedicine / Cross-Sectional Studies / Delivery of Health Care / Demography - statistics & numerical data / Enrollment / Enrollments / Expenditures / Female / Ghana / Health care policy / Humans / Informal economy / Informal Sector / Informal sector workers / Injuries / Insurance / Insurance, Health - statistics & numerical data / Kumasi Metropolis / Life Sciences / Male / Males / Marital status / Medical economics / Medicine/Public Health / Metal workers / Middle Aged / National health insurance / National Health Insurance Scheme / National Health Programs - statistics & numerical data / Occupational diseases / Occupational hazards / Occupational Injuries / Religion / Research Note / Response rates / Sociodemographics / Studies / Surveys and Questionnaires / Variables