Acceptance for Social Health Insurance among Health Professionals in Government Hospitals, Mekelle City, North Ethiopia

Background. Ethiopia is one of the countries with high out-of-pocket payments leading to catastrophic health expenditure. The government of Ethiopia introduced social health insurance (SHI) scheme with the overall objective of achieving universal health care access. Studying health professionals’ ac...

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Main Authors: Alemtsehay Tewele, Mezgebu Yitayal, Adane Kebede
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2020-01-01
Series:Advances in Public Health
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2020/6458425
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author Alemtsehay Tewele
Mezgebu Yitayal
Adane Kebede
author_facet Alemtsehay Tewele
Mezgebu Yitayal
Adane Kebede
author_sort Alemtsehay Tewele
collection DOAJ
description Background. Ethiopia is one of the countries with high out-of-pocket payments leading to catastrophic health expenditure. The government of Ethiopia introduced social health insurance (SHI) scheme with the overall objective of achieving universal health care access. Studying health professionals’ acceptance to pay for social health insurance is crucial for the successful implementation of the scheme. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the acceptance of social health insurance and its associated factors among health professionals in government hospitals, Mekelle city, North Ethiopia. Methods. An institution-based cross-sectional study design was used. The study participants were selected using systematic random sampling. Data were collected using a structured interviewer-administered questionnaire and analyzed using SPSS version 20. Bivariable and multivariable logistic regression models at a 5% level of significance, and odds ratios with 95% CI level were used to determine the association between the health professionals’ acceptance of health insurance and explanatory variables. Results. The study revealed that 62.5% of the respondents were willing to participate in the SHI scheme in which 74.9% were willing to pay 3% or more of their monthly salary. Health professionals’ acceptance for SHI significantly associated with monthly salary (AOR = 9.49; 95% CI: 2.51, 35.86), awareness about SHI (AOR = 3.89; 95% CI: 1.05, 14.28), history of difficulty in covering medical bills (AOR = 6.2; 95% CI: 2.42, 15.87), attitudes towards social health insurance (AOR = 7.57; 95% CI: 3.14, 18.21), and perceived quality of health care services if SHI implemented (AOR = 2.89; 95% CI: 1.18, 7.07). Conclusion. The study indicated that there were still a high proportion of health professionals who were not willing to pay for SHI. Therefore, strengthening awareness creation, creating awareness about SHI, promoting the scheme using the different channels of communication to bring about favorable attitude, and providing health care services with required standard quality could help to increase the acceptance of SHI by health professionals.
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spelling doaj-art-b9b6e2a962bd4b088bcdc283e64c333f2025-02-03T01:04:39ZengWileyAdvances in Public Health2356-68682314-77842020-01-01202010.1155/2020/64584256458425Acceptance for Social Health Insurance among Health Professionals in Government Hospitals, Mekelle City, North EthiopiaAlemtsehay Tewele0Mezgebu Yitayal1Adane Kebede2Department of Health System, School of Public Health, College of Health Sciences, Mekelle University, Mek’ele, EthiopiaDepartment of Health Systems and Policy, Institute of Public Health, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Gondar, Gondar, EthiopiaDepartment of Health Systems and Policy, Institute of Public Health, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Gondar, Gondar, EthiopiaBackground. Ethiopia is one of the countries with high out-of-pocket payments leading to catastrophic health expenditure. The government of Ethiopia introduced social health insurance (SHI) scheme with the overall objective of achieving universal health care access. Studying health professionals’ acceptance to pay for social health insurance is crucial for the successful implementation of the scheme. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the acceptance of social health insurance and its associated factors among health professionals in government hospitals, Mekelle city, North Ethiopia. Methods. An institution-based cross-sectional study design was used. The study participants were selected using systematic random sampling. Data were collected using a structured interviewer-administered questionnaire and analyzed using SPSS version 20. Bivariable and multivariable logistic regression models at a 5% level of significance, and odds ratios with 95% CI level were used to determine the association between the health professionals’ acceptance of health insurance and explanatory variables. Results. The study revealed that 62.5% of the respondents were willing to participate in the SHI scheme in which 74.9% were willing to pay 3% or more of their monthly salary. Health professionals’ acceptance for SHI significantly associated with monthly salary (AOR = 9.49; 95% CI: 2.51, 35.86), awareness about SHI (AOR = 3.89; 95% CI: 1.05, 14.28), history of difficulty in covering medical bills (AOR = 6.2; 95% CI: 2.42, 15.87), attitudes towards social health insurance (AOR = 7.57; 95% CI: 3.14, 18.21), and perceived quality of health care services if SHI implemented (AOR = 2.89; 95% CI: 1.18, 7.07). Conclusion. The study indicated that there were still a high proportion of health professionals who were not willing to pay for SHI. Therefore, strengthening awareness creation, creating awareness about SHI, promoting the scheme using the different channels of communication to bring about favorable attitude, and providing health care services with required standard quality could help to increase the acceptance of SHI by health professionals.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2020/6458425
spellingShingle Alemtsehay Tewele
Mezgebu Yitayal
Adane Kebede
Acceptance for Social Health Insurance among Health Professionals in Government Hospitals, Mekelle City, North Ethiopia
Advances in Public Health
title Acceptance for Social Health Insurance among Health Professionals in Government Hospitals, Mekelle City, North Ethiopia
title_full Acceptance for Social Health Insurance among Health Professionals in Government Hospitals, Mekelle City, North Ethiopia
title_fullStr Acceptance for Social Health Insurance among Health Professionals in Government Hospitals, Mekelle City, North Ethiopia
title_full_unstemmed Acceptance for Social Health Insurance among Health Professionals in Government Hospitals, Mekelle City, North Ethiopia
title_short Acceptance for Social Health Insurance among Health Professionals in Government Hospitals, Mekelle City, North Ethiopia
title_sort acceptance for social health insurance among health professionals in government hospitals mekelle city north ethiopia
url http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2020/6458425
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