Utilization and Quality of Services under Tertiary Institutions Social Health Insurance Program (TISHIP) in Enugu, South-East Nigeria: A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

A bstract Background: Students constitute a very large percentage of Nigeria’s population. They are unable to benefit from the public sector programs as enrollees or dependents to enrollees because of their age and status as students. Hence, to cater for their healthcare needs, the Tertiary Institutions’ Social Health Insurance Program (TISHIP) was designed. Objectives: We aimed to ascertain the level of awareness of the students on the operations, determine the rate of utilization of healthcare services, and assess the quality of services rendered to the students under the program. Materials and Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted at the campuses of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN) and University of Nigeria Enugu Campus (UNEC). Data were collected from 470 students on both campuses by using a semi-structured questionnaire. Tests such as simple linear regression and t test were carried out. Results: Many 50.4% of the students have heard of the TISHIP. Age had a statistically significant association with the awareness of the TISHIP. About 59.3% of respondents were not aware of the operational modalities of the program. Although a good number of the respondents 66% reported ever feeling ill, 44.1% visited the school clinic. No dimension of the service quality recorded a positive result in the gap analysis, suggesting that the qualities of the expected services were not met. Conclusion: There is inadequate utilization of the healthcare services by the respondents, and those who utilized the services of the program were not satisfied with the quality of services.