Community Health Insurance Schemes and Access to Quality Health Services in Rural Areas: A Case of Kasaana Sub-County, Sheema District, Uganda

ABSTRACT : The study assessed the effect of community health insurance schemes on access to qualityhealth services in rural areas in Kasaana Sub-County, Sheema District, Uganda. It was guided by the followingobjectives; to find out the effect of health infrastructure insurance scheme on the accessibility to quality healthservices, to determine the extent to which medical materials insurance scheme influence the accessibility toquality health services and to find out the extent to which financial resource insurance scheme affect theaccessibility to quality health services.The researcher used a correlation and cross sectional designs. Theresearcher used both purposive and stratified random sampling techniques to sample respondents and the samplesize was 310 respondents. Pearson Correlation Coefficient was also used first to examine associations betweenvariables, presented in a correlation matrix style. Finally, a sequence of Multiple Regression Analyses wasemployed to test the hypothesis and to identify the nature and extent of relationship. The study findingsrevealed that effectiveness of health infrastructure has a strong, positive and significant impact on people’saccessibility to quality health services (R-value of 0.983; Beta value of 0.983 and significant value of 0.00). Thestudy findings also revealed that availability of medical facilities or material at health centers have a positiveimpact on the accessibility of quality health service to people (r-value of 0.979 and Beta value of 0.979 atsignificant value of 0.00). It was also revealed that availability of financial resources insurance schemes have astrong, positive and significant impact on people’s accessibility to quality health services (r-value of 0.998, Betavalue of 0.998 and significant value of 0.00.) This study concluded that effective health infrastructure insurancehas a strong, positive and significant impact on the people’s accessibility to quality health services. Thegovernment should ensure that laboratories at all heath facilities that are well equipped with facilities such thatpatients can access laboratory related services easily

KEY TERMS: Community Health Insurance Schemes, Quality Health Services, Kasaana Sub-County, SheemaDistrict, Uganda