Awareness of National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) and Quality of Health Care Services among Civil Servants in Cross River State, Nigeria

Abstract

As part of government effort to address the problems in the sector, the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) was initiated to address the health problems in Nigeria. The study assessed awareness of NHIS and quality of health care among Cross River state civil servants. Simple and systematic random sampling technique was adopted in administering 561 questionnaires on civil servants. The generated data were statistically tested at the 0.05 level of significant using Pearson Product Moment Correlation analytical procedure..Results from the study showed that 92.3% of the respondents were aware of the existence of NHIS program while 65.8% registered with NHIS.  63.8 % Civil Servants in Cross River State had the knowledge that NHIS is designed to protect their families from financial hardship arising from huge medical bills and also 71.5 % respondents from the study were aware that NHIS will improve quality of health care in Nigeria. These are part of the objectives of the scheme to improve the quality of health care delivery. Civil servants in Cross River State have comprehensive knowledge of the National Health Insurance Scheme package as a desirable tool for satisfying their health needs.  However, the analysis revealed civil servants ‘awareness of NHIS was significantly related to the quality of health care service render to them.

Keywords: NHIS, civil servants, awareness, healthcare.