Awareness about the New Social Health Insurance System, among Physicians in Primary Health Care Centers in Cairo governorate, and Factors Affecting it

Abstract

Abstract Introduction The Government of Egypt is committed to attain Universal Health Coverage (UHC), and its progress in this vein has been spurred recently through the approval of the Social Health Insurance (SHI) law. Health providers are important stakeholders in the implementation of the SHI system. Objective The objective of this study was to estimate the level of awareness of physicians and managers in Primary Health Care Centers (PHCCs) in Cairo governorate about the new system and the factors affecting it. Method A cross-sectional study was conducted to estimate the awareness level of 100 physicians and managers from PHCCs in Cairo governorate in 2019. PHCCs subjected to this study were selected randomly from the official list of the PHCCs in Cairo governorate from the MOH, and the required sample of physicians was randomly selected inside each center. A semi-structured Arabic interview questionnaire was used, with a reliability coefficient of 0.70. Results The study revealed that the respondents’ awareness level of the new SHI System was mostly average (78% between Q1-Q3 of the total awareness score). Only 54% of the participants considered themselves aware of the new SHI system. 82% of the respondents expressed their desire to get more information about the new SHI system. The majority of participants (88%) reported that they did not attend any induction or training courses regarding the SHI system. Only 4% of the respondents stated that they are fully and clearly aware of their role in the new SHI system. Managers and older participants showed significantly higher means of awareness than the competitors groups. Conclusion The study concluded that the level of awareness about the SHI among the studied sample of the PHCCs physicians at Cairo governorate was averaged. Recommendation: Efforts should be enhanced for reaching out to the physicians in PHCCs, including those working in governorates where implementation of SHI system hasn’t commenced yet, especially to emphasize their understanding of the objectives and elements of the new system.