Health insurance coverage and access to child and maternal health services in West Africa: a study protocol for a systematic review

BACKGROUND: Though many studies have discussed the impact of health insurance on access to medical services, few have considered Western Africa. Despite decades of targeted efforts, West Africa has the most elevated maternal mortality rates (MMR) and under-five mortality rates in the world. The solution to this issue is widely believed to be the implementation of universal health coverage (UHC) as most causes of death could be effectively dealt with through primary health care providers. It is possible that UHC without additional efforts to tackle important determinants of health such as education and poverty is insufficient. The objective of this study is to examine the link between being covered by health insurance and access to health services for mothers and children in West Africa. METHODS: A systematic literature review will be conducted. We will search the online databases MEDLINE complete, Embase, CINAHL complete, and Global Health from inception onwards. The focus will be on primary research studies and grey literature that examined health insurance in relation to access to maternal and child health services. Two reviewers will independently screen all citations, full-text articles, and abstract data. The primary outcome will be maternal and child access to health insurance and access to primary and secondary services such as attending the minimum number of prenatal visits and accessing services in emergency circumstances where catastrophic expenditures may have been an obstacle. A standardized data extraction form by the Cochrane library will be used. A narrative synthesis will be conducted with a summary of findings tables to be produced. DISCUSSION: The systematic review will present findings on the impact of access to health insurance on access to maternal and child health care. The findings will inform discussion around the pursuit of UHC as a key health systems policy. The final manuscript will be disseminated through peer-reviewed journal and scientific conferences. SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION: PROSPERO CRD42020203859 SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s13643-021-01628-2.