Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34723992›Full record

ArticlePloS one2021

Effectiveness of health voucher scheme and micro-health insurance scheme to support the poor and extreme poor in selected urban areas of Bangladesh: An assessment using a mixed-method approach.

Sayem Ahmed, Md Zahid Hasan, Nausad Ali, Mohammad Wahid Ahmed, Emranul Haq, Sadia Shabnam, Morseda Chowdhury, Breda Gahan, Christine Bousquet, Jahangir A M Khan and 1 more

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in PloS one, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
9citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
1.4field-weighted citation impact, top 16% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

9 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 10 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

11 authors at 5 institutions in 5 countries.

Sayem AhmedMathematical Modelling Group, Oxford University Clinical Research Unit (OUCRU), Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.ORCID 0000-0001-9499-1500
Md Zahid HasanInternational Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (icddr,b), Dhaka, Bangladesh.ORCID 0000-0002-3824-8947
Nausad AliInternational Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (icddr,b), Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Mohammad Wahid AhmedInternational Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (icddr,b), Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Emranul HaqConcern Worldwide, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Sadia ShabnamBRAC, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Morseda ChowdhuryBRAC, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Breda GahanConcern Worldwide, Dublin, Ireland.
Christine BousquetConcern Worldwide, Dublin, Ireland.
Jahangir A M KhanLiverpool School of Tropical Medicine (LSTM), Liverpool, United Kingdom.
Ziaul IslamInternational Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (icddr,b), Dhaka, Bangladesh.
International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research · BDBRAC · BDConcern Worldwide · IELiverpool School of Tropical Medicine · GBBangladesh Institute of Development Studies · BD

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundNational healthcare financing strategy recommends tax-based equity funds and insurance schemes for the poor and extreme poor living in urban slums and pavements as the majority of these population utilise informal providers resulting in adverse health effects and financial hardship. We assessed the effect of a health voucher scheme (HVS) and micro-health insurance (MHI) scheme on healthcare utilisation and out-of-pocket (OOP) payments and the cost of implementing such schemes.

methodsHVS and MHI schemes were implemented by Concern Worldwide through selected NGO health centres, referral hospitals, and private healthcare facilities in three City Corporations of Bangladesh from December 2016 to March 2020. A household survey with 1,294 enrolees, key-informant interviews, focus group discussions, consultative meetings, and document reviews were conducted for extracting data on healthcare utilisation, OOP payments, views of enrolees, and suggestions of implementers, and costs of services at the point of care.

resultsHealthcare utilisation including maternal, neonatal and child health (MNCH) services, particularly from medically trained providers, was higher and OOP payments were lower among the scheme enrolees compared to corresponding population groups in general. The beneficiaries were happy with their access to healthcare, especially for MNCH services, and their perceived quality of care was fair enough. They, however, suggested expanding the benefits package, supported by an additional workforce. The cost per beneficiary household for providing services per year was €32 in HVS and €15 in MHI scheme.

conclusionHVS and MHI schemes enabled higher healthcare utilisation at lower OOP payments among the enrolees, who were happy with their access to healthcare, particularly for MNCH services. However, they suggested a larger benefits package in future. The provider's costs of the schemes were reasonable; however, there are potentials of cost containment by purchasing the health services for their beneficiaries in a competitive basis from the market. Scaling up such schemes addressing the drawback would contribute to achieving universal health coverage.

Indexed as

Insurance, HealthPatient Acceptance of Health CarePovertyUrban PopulationBangladeshCommunity-Based Health InsuranceHealth ExpendituresHumans

Identifiers

PMID34723992
PMCPMC8559931
OpenAlexW3210278555

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.