NHIS awareness, accessibility, affordability, and patronage among selected Lagos State Owned Healthcare Facilities’ Patients: Friedman Rank and Multiple Regression Tests

Abstract

The study explored the nexus between National Health Insurance Scheme awareness, accessibility, affordability and patronage among selected patients in Lagos State-owned Healthcare Facilities. It examines how effectively and efficient is NHIS is contributing to a safer patient’s life. The study adopted a structured questionnaire, with data collected from 151 respondents. A cross-sectional survey design jointly with double sampling techniques were adopted. The research utilised both qualitative and quantitative methods to gather evidence from selected patients in the Lagos State owned Healthcare Facilities., Friedman rank test and multiple regression techniques. The study revealed a rank order of both NHIS metrics and NHIS patronage metrics among selected patients in Lagos State owned healthcare facilities. The study further revealed the joint effect of NHIS awareness, accessibility, and affordability on the NHIS patronage among selected patients in Lagos State owned healthcare facilities. The study recommended that routine risk assessment within healthcare facilities to be able to identify potential hazards among patients and the hospital environments. The Lagos State Owned Healthcare Facilities should ensure effective and efficient utilization of the NHIS as a focal point to dampening the out-of-payment stress that are usually being experienced by hospital patients. The hospital management should ensure that technology is embraced to facilitate the usage of NHIS as full-time payment plan for all patients within the hospital. Insurance companies, especially, life insurers should ensure that there exists collaboration between them and the various healthcare facilities in Lagos State to enrich the patient’s knowledge and accessibility of NHIS and its affordability.