Assessing Beneficiaries’ Healthcare Satisfaction under National Health Insurance in Dar es Salaam Region, Tanzania
Main Article Content
Abstract
This research is based on an empirical study of NHIF beneficiaries on the quality of healthcare received under the scheme. It investigates the extent of healthcare satisfaction as perceived by principal beneficiaries on various factors influencing healthcare, and examined challenges facing the scheme as per beneficiaries’ opinion. This research used survey method for data collection. The analysis is done using primary data from the questionnaire, which were distributed to 152 NHIF beneficiaries (employee) at the National Identification Authority (NIDA) in October 2018. Data collection instrument included a Google-based questionnaire with closed questions. Data were analyzed quantitatively using descriptive statistics (Quantitative descriptive study design). The study found unsatisfactory results on some of the services given by the scheme such as a number of dependents covered, the range of diseases covered, time for treatment intervention, time to wait for diagnostic tests, an appointment with the specialists, and time to retrieve files. It also examined budget constraints, public awareness, and acceptance of the scheme, corruption, and embezzlement as the challenge facing the scheme.
Downloads
Article Details
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
References
Anderson, R. E. (1973). Consumer dissatisfaction: The effect of disconfirmed expectancy on product performance. Journal of Marketing Research, 10(1), 38-44.
Bayarsaikhan, D., & Lurent, M. (2016). Health financing issues and reforms in Africa. International Journal of Healthcare, 2(2). doi: 10.5430/ijh.v2n2p37
Kibanga, C. J. (2007). The contribution of NHIF in improving the provision of health services: The case study of Kibaha District in Coast Region – Tanzania (Unpublished master’s thesis, 2007).
Kumburu, P. N. (2015). National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) in Tanzania as a tool for improving universal coverage and accessibility to health care services: Cases From Dar Es Salaam – Tanzania (Unpublished master’s thesis, 2015).
Lavy, V., & Alderman, H. (1996). Household response to public health services: Cost and quality tradeoffs. The World Bank Research Observer. 11(1), 3-22.
Marwa, C. W. (2016). Provision of national health insurance fund services to its members; members; pain or gain?. Unified Journal of Sport and Health Science, 2(1), 001- 006.
Mcintyre, D., Bertha, G., & Gemini, M. (2008). Beyond fragmentation and towards universal coverage: Insights from Ghana, South Africa and the United Republic of Tanzania. Bull World Health Organ, 86(11), 871–876.
Mershed, M.,& Reinhard, B. (2012). Healthcare financing in Syria: Satisfaction with the current system and the role of national health insurance—a qualitative study of householders’ views. The International Journal of Health Planning and Management, 27(2), 167-179.
Ministry of Health and Social Welfare (MOHSW). (2013). Human resource for health country profile – Tanzania. Tanzania: Government Publisher.
Mlimbwa. (2011). The Assessment of members’ attitude towards National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) services: A case of Dar Es Salaam - Tanzania (Unpublished doctoral dissertation, 2011).
Msimbe, B. (2005). Impact of HIV/Aids Pandemic on National Health Insurance Fund Operations. GUARDIAN. Dar es Salaam.
Mtei, G. J. (2005). Analysis of the National Health Insurance Fund in Tanzania: Could out-of-pocket be a better option? (Unpublished doctoral dissertation, 2005).
Mtei, G. J., & Josephine, B. (2010). An assessment of health care financing progressivity in Tanzania. Dar es Salaam: Ifakara Health Institute.
Mtei, G. J & Makwaia, S. (2014). Universal Health Coverage: Tanzania. (Working paper). Uganda.
Mwinuka, B., &Aggrey, R.M.K. (2016). Assessment of the level of satisfaction between beneficiaries of Sokoine University of Agriculture Community Health Fund (SUACHF) and beneficiaries of the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) in Morogoro Region. Imperial Journal of Interdisciplinary Research (IJIR),2(10), 1063-1069.
National Audit Office. (2008). A performance audit report on the management of primary health care: A case study of health centers. Dar es Salaam, Tanzania: National Audit Office.
National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), Ministry of Health and Social Welfare (MoHSW), Office of the Chief Government Statistician (OCGS) & ICF International (2016). Tanzania Service Provision Assessment Survey 2014-2015. Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, and Rockville, Maryland, USA: MoHSW, NBS, OCGS, and ICF International.
Nyorera, E.N,& Walter, O. (2015). Factors affecting the uptake of national hospital insurance fund among informal sector workers: A case of Nyatike Sub-County, Kenya. International Journal of Economics, Commerce and Management, 3(3), 1-18.
Olson, J., & Dover, P. (1979). Disconfirmation of consumer expectations through product trial. Journal of Applied Psychology, 64(2), 179-189.
Osei-Akoto, I. (2003, April 7-9). Demand for voluntary health insurance by the poor in developing countries: evidence from rural Ghana. Paper presented at the conference on Staying Poor: Chronic poverty and development policy, IDPM. in the UK, Manchester.
Prabhakaran, S. & Arin, D. (2017). An actuarial study of the proposed single national health insurance scheme in Tanzania. A Summary Brief Policy November 2017.
Semkiwa, M. (2009). Assessment of customer satisfaction on the health service in Tanzania, a case of health centers owned by local governments (Doctoral dissertation, University of Dar es Salaam, 2009). Tanzania: University of Dar es Salaam.
Sparrow, M. (1996). License to steal: Why fraud plagues the American health care system. Boulder, Colorado: Westview Press.
Sugiyono. (2011). Metode penelitian quantitative qualitatif dan R & D. Bandung: Alfabeta, CV.
The Citizen. (2017). Tanzania: More Tanzanians should have health insurance. Retrieved April 12, 2019, from https://allafrica.com/stories/201704120461.html.
Thompson, M., Price, C. P. P., & Van den Bruel, A. (2011). Innovation in Diagnostics and Healthcare: Improving bench to bedside processes for testing. Centre for Monitoring and Diagnosis, University of Oxford Department of Primary Care Health Sciences.
World Health Organization. (2016). Global strategy on human resources for health: Workforce 2030. Avenue Appia: WHO Press, World Health Organization.
World Health Organization. (2014). Making fair choices on the path to universal health coverage: final report of the WHO Consultative Group on Equity and Universal Health Coverage. Geneva: WHO.