Household satisfaction with a community-based health insurance scheme in Ethiopia

BACKGROUND: Community-based health insurance (CBHI) schemes are an emerging tool for providing financial protection against health-related poverty. In Ethiopia, CBHI is being piloted in 13 districts, but community experience and satisfaction with the scheme have yet to be studied. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the experiences and satisfaction of households enrolled in a pilot CBHI scheme. METHODS: A community-based cross-sectional study method was used in one pilot district in South Ethiopia. Data were collected in March and April 2014. 386 households enrolled in the CBHI scheme were sampled by simple random sampling. Data were collected by trained data collectors using a pre-tested structured questionnaire. Descriptive statistics and bivariate and multiple linear regression analyses were performed. P values less than 0.05 and 95 % confidence intervals were used to determine associations between independent and dependent variables. RESULTS: The study revealed that overall household satisfaction with CBHI was 91.38 %. Moreover, there was a significant association between health service provision and CBHI members’ satisfaction scores. For instance, household heads that strongly disagreed with laboratory services provision had an average 0.878 decrease in CBHI satisfaction score compared to household heads that strongly agreed. CBHI process- and management-related factors were also significantly associated with satisfaction. CONCLUSIONS: Satisfaction with CBHI was high. Age, family size, laboratory services provision, health services provider friendliness, CBHI offices opening times, membership card collection process, and time interval to use of services were significant predictors of satisfaction with CBHI.