Assessing the Impact of Education on the Uptake of Health Insurance at the Cape Coast Technical University, Ghana
Ophelia Mensah & Richmond Yeboah 
Issue: Vol.3 No.12 November 2022 Article 4 pp.556-571
DOI: https://doi.org/10.38159/ehass.20223124 | Published online 14th November 2022.
© 2022 The Author(s). This is an open access article under the CCBY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Historically, health financing in Ghana was cash and carry from the 1980s until the year 2005 when National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) started operation. Due to the barriers surrounding the ‘‘out-of-pocket’’ (OOP) regime on healthcare, Ghana adopted health insurance as an alternative for financing healthcare. The National Health Insurance Scheme was thus introduced in 2003 as a step towards achieving universal health coverage. This was aimed at bringing hope, better health and easing the financial burden on the entire population of Ghana especially the most vulnerable and poor. The study assesses the impact of education on the uptake of the National Health Insurance Policy among the staff of Cape Coast Technical University and its policy implication in achieving universal coverage. A descriptive research design and quantitative research approaches were adopted in this study. A survey of 200 staff of Cape Coast Technical University was conducted using a proportionate stratified sample technique to ensure a smooth representation of individuals. Questionnaires were used to collect data for this study. The results of the ordinary least square regression proved that level of education statistically influenced the uptake of health insurance. The study recommends that policymakers should continue to invest in the education of Ghanaians.
Keywords: Heath, National Health Insurance, Uptake of Insurance, Education, and Cape Coast Technical University.
Abdel Ghany, M., & Wang, M. Q. “Factors associated with different degrees of health insurance coverage.” Family and Consumer Sciences Research Journal, 29(3), (2001): 252-264.
Agbanyo, R. National Health Insurance, women’s autonomy and maternal healthcare utilisation in Ghana, Doctor of Philosophy Thesis, University of Cape Coast, 2019.
Ahmed, E. M. “Hydrogel: Preparation, characterization, and applications: A review.” Journal of Advanced Research, 6(2), (2015): 105-121.
Alesane, A., & Anang, B. T. “Uptake of health insurance by the rural poor in Ghana: determinants and implications for policy.” The Pan African Medical Journal, 31(2018).
Amedahe, F. K. Fundamentals of educational research methods. Mimeograph, UCC, Cape Coast. (2002).
Anyinam, C. A. “The social costs of the International Monetary Fund’s adjustment programmes for poverty: the case of health care development in Ghana.” International Journal of Health Services, 19(3), (1989): 531-547.
Arun, T., Bendig, M., & Arun, S. “Bequest motives and determinants of micro life insurance in Sri Lanka.” World development, 40(8), (2012): 1700-1711.
Asah, F. “Computer usage among nurses in rural health‐care facilities in South Africa: obstacles and challenges.” Journal of nursing management, 21(3), (2013): 499-510.
Badu, E., Agyei‐Baffour, P., Ofori Acheampong, I., Opoku, M. P., & Addai‐Donkor, K. “Perceived satisfaction with health services under National Health Insurance Scheme: Clients’ perspectives.” The International Journal of Health Planning and Management, 34(1), (2019): e964-e975.
Bauernschuster, S., Driva, A., & Hornung, E. “Bismarck’s health insurance and the mortality decline.” Journal of the European Economic Association. (2017).
Becker, G. S. “Human Capital: A Theoretical and Empirical Analysis, with Special Reference to Education.” Chicago: University of Press, 19(6), (1964): 4.
Bennett, S., Creese, A., & Monash, R. Health insurance schemes for people outside formal sector employment, Geneva; WHO Division of Analysis, Research and Assessment; ARA Paper No. 16, 1998.
Boateng, I. A Quantitative Case Study of Transformational Leadership Characteristics of Valley View University in Ghana (2014).
Bryne D. Enabling Good Health for All: A reflection process for a new EU Strategy, 2004. Enabling Good Health for all a reflection process (europa.eu)
Cape Coast Technical University (2020). 2020 Staff Records and Statistics. Directorate of Human Resources.
Carrin, G., & James, C. “Social health insurance: key factors affecting the transition towards universal coverage.” International Social Security Review, 58(1), (2005): 45-64.
Carrin, G., Mathauer, I., Xu, K., & Evans, D. B. “Universal coverage of health services: tailoring its implementation.” Bulletin of the World Health Organization, 86, (2008). 857-863.
Carrin, G., Waelkens, M. P., & Criel, B. “Community‐based health insurance in developing countries: a study of its contribution to the performance of health financing systems.” Tropical Medicine & International Health, 10(8), (2005): 799-811.
Cutler, D. M., & Zeckhauser, R. J. The anatomy of health insurance. In Handbook of Health Economics Vol. 1, Amsterdam: Elsevier 2000, 563-643.
Dalinjong, P. A., & Laar, A. S. “The national health insurance scheme: perceptions and experiences of health care providers and clients in two districts of Ghana.” Health economics review, 2(1), (2012):13.
Dercon, S. Globalization and marginalization in Africa: Poverty, risk and vulnerability in rural Ethiopia (No. 2007/73). WIDER Research Paper (2007).
Dror, D. M., & Jacquier, C. “Micro‐insurance: extending health insurance to the excluded.” International social security review, 52(1), (1999): 71-97.
Ehrich, J., Grote, U., Gerber-Grote, A., & Strassburg, M. “The child health care system of Germany.” The Journal of Pediatrics, 177, (2016): S71-S86.
Ekman, P. Emotions Revealed. Bmj, 328 (Suppl S5) (2004).
Ghosh, R. “Mentors providing challenge and support: Integrating concepts from teacher mentoring in education and organizational mentoring in business.” Human Resource Development Review, 12(2), (2013):144-176.
Grossman, M. “On the concept of health capital and the demand for health.” Journal of Political Economy, 80(2), (1972): 223-255.
Grossman, M. The human capital model. In Handbook of health. Vol 1, Part A, 2000, 347-408, https://www.sciencedirect.com/handbook/handbook-of-health-economics
Hair, J.F., Sarstedt, M., Hopkins, L. and Kuppelwieser, V.G. “Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) An Emerging Tool in Business Research.” European Business Review, 26, (2014): 106-121.
Henseler, J., Ringle, C., & Sinkovics, R. “The Use of Partial Least Squares Path Modeling in International Marketing.” Advance in International Marketing, 20, (2009): 277-319.
Kahneman, D., & Tversky, A. On the interpretation of intuitive probability: A reply to Jonathan Cohen. (1979).
Konadu-Agyemang, K. “The best of times and the worst of times: structural adjustment programmes and uneven development in Africa: the case of Ghana.” The Professional Geographer, 52(3), (2000): 469-483.
Konadu-Agyemang, K. “A survey of housing conditions and characteristics in Accra, an African city.” Habitat International, 25(1), (2001): 15-34.
Kumi-Kyereme, A. & Amo-Adjei, J. “Effects of spatial location and household wealth on health insurance subscription among women in Ghana.” BMC Health Services Research 13(1) (2013):221. DOI: 10.1186/1472-6963-13-221
Lagarde, M., & Palmer, N. “Evidence from systematic reviews to inform decision making regarding financing mechanisms that improve access to health services for poor people.” Geneva: The Alliance for Health Policy and Systems Research, 67 (2006).
Leichter, H. M. “A Comparative Approach to Policy Analysis: Health Care Policy in Four Nations.” CUP Archive. Management Journal, 22(2), (1979): 383-402.
Manning, W. G., & Marquis, M. S. “Health insurance: the trade-off between risk pooling and moral hazard.” Journal of Health Economics, 15(5), (1996): 609-639.
Marquis, M. S., & Holmer, M. R. “Alternative models of choice under uncertainty and demand for health insurance.” The Review of Economics and Statistics, (1996): 421-427.
Mensah, J., & Oppong, J. R. Maternity protections and health insurance in Africa: Comparative overview of Ghana, Kenya, Rwanda, and Tanzania. External collaboration report for the Social Security Department of the International Labour Office. Geneva. (2007).
Mhere, F. “Health insurance determinants in Zimbabwe: case of Gweru urban.” Journal of Applied Business and Economics, 14(2), (2013): 62-79.
National Health Insurance Act, (Act 650). Government of Ghana. (2003).
National Health Insurance Act, (Act 650). Government of Ghana. (2012).
National Health Insurance Authority, 2014 Annual Report. Accra, Ghana: NHIA, 2014.
National Health Insurance Authority, 2015 Annual Report. Accra, Ghana: NHIA, 2015.
National Health Insurance Authority, 2020 Annual Report. Accra, Ghana: NHIA, 2020.
Ndugu, M. S. Effects of financial competitive environment on the performance of SACCOS in Meru County. Kenya (Doctoral dissertation, KeMU, 2015).
Okwan, D., “Role of radiation therapy as immune activator in the era of modern immunotherapy for metastatic malignant melanoma.” American Journal of Clinical Oncology, 38(1), (2015): 119-125.
Oppong, C. “Globalization and the disruption of Mother Care.” Institute of African Studies Research Review, 17(1), (2001): 25-47.
Oppong, J. R., & Toledo, J. R. “The Human Factor and the Quality of Health Care in Rural Ghana.” Review of Human Factor Studies, 1(1), (1995): 80-90.
Psacharopoupulos, G. & Woodhall, M. Education for development: An analysis of investment choice, Oxford University Press, New York, 1997.
Ray, D. I. Ghana: politics, economics, and society. London: Burns & Oates, 1986.
Schneider, P. “Why should the poor insure? Theories of decision-making in the context of health insurance.” Health Policy and Planning, 19(6), (2004): 349–355.
Songsore, J. Regional Development in Ghana: the Theory and the Reality (New Edition). Accra: Woeli, 2011.
Straub, D. W. “Validating Instruments in MIS Research,” MIS Quarterly, Vol. 13, No. 2, (1989): 147-169.
United Nations, “World population prospects: The 2015 revision.” United Nations Econ Soc Aff, 33(2), (2015): 1-66.
Van Doorslaer, E., “Inequalities in access to medical care by income in developed countries.” Cmaj, 174(2), (2006): 177-183.
Waddington, C. J., & Enyimayew, K. A. “A price to pay: The impact of user charges in Ashanti‐Akim District, Ghana.” The International Journal of Health Planning and Management, 4(1), (1989): 17-47.
Wielen, N. V, Falkingham, J. & Channon, A. A “Determinants of National Health Insurance enrolment in Ghana.” International Journal for Equity in Health (2018).
Williams, B., Brown, T. & Onsman, A. “Exploratory factor analysis: A five-step guide for novice.” Australasian Journal of Paramedicine 8(3) (2010):1-13.
World Bank, Education in Rwanda: Rebalancing resources to accelerate post-conflict development and poverty reduction. (Washington: World Bank Publications, 2004).
World Health Organization. Universal Health Coverage. News release Dubai/Geneva/Washington. World Health Organization, 2021.
World Health Organisation (2009). “The Bangkok charter for health promotion in a globalised world.” Health, 168-71.
World Health Organization. The world health report 2008: primary health care now more than ever. Washington: World Health Organization, 2008.
World Health Organisation. (2005). The Bangkok charter for health promotion in a globalised world. Health, 168-71.
Xu, K., Evans, D. B., Kawabata, K., Zeramdini, R., Klavus, J., & Murray, C. J. “Household Catastrophic Health Expenditure: A Multi-Country Analysis.” The lancet, 362(9378), (2003): 111-117.
Ophelia Mensah is a private Consultant and Policy Analyst. She holds a Master of Philosophy Degree in Public Policy and Management from the University of Cape Coast. Her research interest includes public policy, governance, health insurance and management.
Richmond Yeboah is affiliated to the Cape Coast Technical University. He holds a Doctoral Degree in International (Development) Studies at the University of Cape Coast, Ghana. He also holds a Master of Philosophy Degree in Development Studies from the School for Development Studies. His research area includes sustainable development, environment, tourism development, diplomatic relations, Ghana-China relations, public private partnership, and waste management.
Mensah O. & Yeboah R. “Assessing the Impact of Education on the Uptake of Health Insurance at the Cape Coast Technical University, Ghana,” E-Journal of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences 3, no.12 (2022):556-571. https://doi.org/10.38159/ehass.20223124
© 2022 The Author(s). Published and Maintained by Noyam Publishers. This is an open access article under the CCBY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Featured
Others