Evidence map›Paper›PMID 35443014›Full record

ArticlePloS one2022

Household access to non-communicable disease medicines during universal health care roll-out in Kenya: A time series analysis.

Zana Wangari Kiragu, Peter C Rockers, Monica A Onyango, John Mungai, John Mboya, Richard Laing, Veronika J Wirtz

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in PloS one, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
7citing papers in PubMed
2.7field-weighted citation impact, top 8% 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

7 citing papers in PubMed, 13 citations in OpenAlex.

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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

7 authors at 2 institutions in 3 countries.

Zana Wangari KiraguDepartment of Global Health, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America.ORCID 0000-0003-1289-5983
Peter C RockersDepartment of Global Health, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America.
Monica A OnyangoDepartment of Global Health, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America.
John MungaiInnovation for Poverty Action, Nairobi, Kenya.
John MboyaInnovation for Poverty Action, Nairobi, Kenya.
Richard LaingDepartment of Global Health, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America.
Veronika J WirtzDepartment of Global Health, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America.ORCID 0000-0002-0863-8768
Boston University · USPractical Action · KE

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectivesThis study aims to describe trends and estimate impact of county-level universal health coverage expansion in Kenya on household availability of non-communicable disease medicines, medicine obtainment at public hospitals and proportion of medicines obtained free of charge.

methodsData from phone surveillance of households in eight Kenyan counties between December 2016 and September 2019 were used. Three primary outcomes related to access were assessed based on patient report: availability of non-communicable disease medicines at the household; non-communicable disease medicine obtainment at a public hospital versus a different outlet; and non-communicable disease medicine obtainment free of cost versus at a non-zero price. Mixed models adjusting for fixed and random effects were used to estimate associations between outcomes of interest and UHC exposure.

resultsThe 197 respondents with universal health coverage were similar on all demographic factors to the 415 respondents with no universal health coverage. Private chemists were the most popular place of purchase throughout the study. Adjusting for demographic factors, county and time fixed effects, there was a significant increase in free medicines (aOR 2.55, 95% CI 1.73, 3.76), significant decrease in medicine obtainment at public hospitals (aOR 0.68, 95% CI 0.47, 0.97), and no impact on the availability of non-communicable disease medicines in households (aβ -0.004, 95% CI -0.058, 0.050) with universal health coverage.

conclusionsAccess to universal health coverage caused a significant increase in free non-communicable disease medicines, indicating financial risk protection. Interestingly, this is not accompanied with increases in public hospitals purchases or household availability of non-communicable disease medicines, with public health centers playing a greater role in supply of free medicines. This raises the question as to the status of supply-side investments at the public hospitals, to facilitate availability of quality-assured medicines.

Indexed as

Drugs, EssentialNoncommunicable DiseasesHealth Services AccessibilityHumansKenyaTime FactorsUniversal Health CareDrugs, Essential

Identifiers

PMID35443014
PMCPMC9020677
OpenAlexW4224272607

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

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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.