FARMERS’ ACCESSIBILITY TO NATIONAL HEALTH INSURANCE SCHEME SERVICES IN EDO STATE, NIGERIA

ABSTRACT

This study investigated farmers' accessibility to National Health Insurance Scheme Services in Edo State, Nigeria. Specifically, the study described the socio-economic characteristics of respondents; identify their common health challenges and its frequency of occurrence; examined sources of health information accessible to respondents; examined respondents’ awareness, knowledge of NHIS services and described constraints that respondents faced in accessing NHIS services. A multi-stage sampling procedure was used to select 210 respondents but only 179 was used for the analysis for farmers accessibility to National Health Insurance Scheme Services across the three (3) senatorial zones in Edo state. Data were collected with the aid of structured questionnaire and analyzed using descriptive statistics such as frequency counts, percentage and mean while logit regression model was used to make inference. Majority (80.90%) of the respondents were males their mean age was 52years, (87.08%) were married and 53.93% of them had tertiary educational background. Their farming status was (65.17%) and farming experience was 18years. The crop mostly grown by the farmers were cassava (84.27%) and Maize (80.34%). It was found that the common health challenges of the respondents were malaria (Mean= 4.06), waist pain (Mean= 3.78), fever (Mean= 3.69), headache (Mean= 3.06) and cold/pneumonia (Mean= 2.87). The frequency of health checkup by respondents was monthly (41.0%) and information sources accessible to respondents were television (91.57%), radio (84.27%), phones (79.78%) and social media (70.22%). Respondents perceived television (75.28%) to be their preferred source of information. Finding shows that private clinics (84.27%) and general/central hospitals (62.92%) were the most used medical centers. Respondents were more aware of National Health Insurance Scheme than their services. The mean of respondent’s knowledge on immunization against infectious diseases was 3.02. Result shows that (82.0%) of the farmers were willing to access NHIS services. Reasons why respondents are willing to access NHIS services were that NHIS services will help to have good health care services (94.52%). Willingness to pay for the premium was (91.8%) but only (58.96%) could afford to pay the amount for single premium of ₦16,000 per annual. The constraints that farmers are facing in accessing NHIS services were; poor information of NHIS services (Mean= 3.07), while distance barrier of NHIS providers were the least among the constraints. Inferential statistics result showed that sex (0.597) has positive significant relationship with willingness to access NHIS services and income level being positive was the most significant in the relationship with farmers’ knowledge of NHIS services (2.187). The study concludes that farmers are willing to access NHIS services and ready to pay for the available premium with adequate information that will enable them to have accessibility to NHIS services in the study area. Therefore, the study recommends that; The National Health Insurance Scheme should regularly organize sensitization, orientation programmes as well as to subsidize the premium package available to the farmers for easy access to health care services.