An Appraisal of Clients’ Utilization of National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) Services at the Kubwa General Hospital

Abstract

NHIS was launched officially on 6th of June 2005. The Scheme is designed to provide comprehensive health care at affordable costs, covering employees of the formal sector, self-employed, as well as rural communities, the poor and the vulnerable groups. However, client satisfaction of services rendered continues to be a major concern for the improvement of NHIS. This study is designed to determine the level and causes of dissatisfaction of clients accessing NHIS clinic at the Kubwa General Hospital, Kubwa, FCT, Abuja. This study employed a descriptive cross sectional survey. 279 NHIS enrollees were recruited for this study at the Kubwa General Hospital. Questionnaires were administered and the level of dissatisfaction and satisfaction of NHIS services were analyzed. The satisfaction rate was 69.2% while the dissatisfaction rate was 22.9%. The respondents were satisfied with the attitude of health workers in NHIS clinic, Kubwa. However, they were dissatisfied with waiting time, attitude of record officers and those in pharmacy department. This study found that the level of dissatisfaction with NHIS services is high despite a high satisfaction level. The Attitude of health workers may influence the dissatisfaction of enrollees. NHIS is still limited to the formal sector.