Household Health Expenditure on Under_Fivechildren of Market Women in Ibadan

 

 

Out-of-pocket health expenditure has remained the main source of health care financing in Nigeria due to the limited coverage of the National Health Insurance Scheme especially for persons engaged in the informal sector. The burden of this health expenditure on households has not been fully explored. This study was therefore, conducted to assess sources of health care, payment options and household health expenditure on under-five children by market women in Ibadan, Nigeria.

A semi-structured, interviewer-administered questionnaire was used to obtain information from 350 caregivers of under-five children on socio-demographic characteristics, selected under-five illness episodes in the three months preceding the study, sources of health care, payment options and estimates of health expenditure. Households were grouped into three socio-economic classes (SEC). Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and Mann-Whitney U Test.

The mean ages of caregivers and children were 31.2±6.7years and 2.6±1.2 years respectively. Majority of households (78.5%) belonged to the middle socio-economic class. The usual sources of health care were public health facilities (63.9%).The median health expenditure on under-five children was ₦1,300 (range ₦60 - ₦80,000). The highest health expenditure was incurred for the treatment of acute respiratory tract infection. Seventy-nine percent felt that paying out-of-pocket did not limit them from accessing health care and just 45.5% felt  out of pocket payment should be stopped. Almost all (97.4%) were satisfied with the health services provided at the usual place of care. The median household health expenditure was significantly higher for children who were hospitalized and for those who sought health care from hospitals compared with those who used other health care sources.

Out-of-pocket payment was the major source of health financing among these market women. There is a need to explore other payment options to ease the burden of health care expenditure among informal sector workers.

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