Awareness and Enrollment into the National Health Insurance Scheme among Federal Civil Servants in Rivers State, Nigeria

Abstract

Background: The increasing cost of health care services and development is a major concern to the government in developed and developing countries, hence the need for Health Insurance. The National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) of Nigeria was established about ten years ago to achieve universal health coverage within ten years of inception. Currently, the population coverage is less than 10%. Formal sector employees are the primary beneficiaries.Aim: This study seeks to determine the level of awareness and enrolment, factors associated with enrolment, and identify reasons for non-enrollment into the NHIS among federal civil servants.Methodology: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study. A multi-stage sampling method was used. Questionnaires were self-administered, data was collated and analyzed using SPSS version 21.0. The Chi-square test was used to test for statistical significance variables. The level of Confidence was set at 95%, and the level of significance was predetermined at a p-value of 0.05.Results: Out of the 335 respondents interviewed, 334 (99.7%) said that they had heard about NHIS and 280 (83.8%) respondents were enrolled for NHIS. Age was found to be statistically associated with enrollment. Among non-enrollees, the most prevalent reason given was a lack of understanding of the scheme.Conclusion: Awareness and enrollment into the NHIS by the federal civil servants, in this study were very high. There is a need to improve access to information about the scheme to the populace.