ReviewInternational journal for equity in health2023
Inequality and private health insurance in Zimbabwe: history, politics and performance.
Review in International journal for equity in health, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 12 papers.
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Who cites it
12 citing papers in PubMed.
- Fractional order modeling of hepatitis C transmission dynamics with physics-informed neural network solutions.BMC infectious diseases · 2026Article
- Challenges and facilitators in pathways to cancer diagnosis in Southern Africa: a qualitative study.BMJ open · 2025Article
- Lived experiences and expectations of people living with HIV and co-morbid diabetes regarding primary care services in Harare, Zimbabwe : Patient perspective on burden of disease.BMC health services research · 2025Article
- Cost-Effectiveness of Screening and Treating Chronic Hepatitis C Virus Infection in Zimbabwe.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2025Article
- Quantifying capacity of otolaryngology-head and neck surgery in Zimbabwe.Laryngoscope investigative otolaryngology · 2025Article
- Barriers to and facilitators of linkage to care following hypertension and diabetes screening among health workers in Zimbabwe: A mixed method study.PLOS global public health · 2025Article
- Trends in gastrointestinal cancer burden in Zimbabwe: 10-year retrospective study 2009-2018.Ecancermedicalscience · 2025Article
- Bidirectional needs assessment of otolaryngology-head and neck surgery short-term surgical trips in Zimbabwe.Laryngoscope investigative otolaryngology · 2024Article
- A situational and stakeholder analysis of health technology assessment in Zimbabwe.International journal of technology assessment in health care · 2024Article
- Ophthalmology Practice-Related Factors and Patient Loyalty: Mediating Role of Patient Satisfaction.Patient preference and adherence · 2024Article
- Disparities in the Prevalence of Osteoporosis and Osteopenia in Men and Women Living in Sub-Saharan Africa, the UK, and the USA.Current osteoporosis reports · 2023Review
- Determinants of Cervical Cancer Screening Among Rural Women in Zimbabwe.Public health nursing (Boston, Mass.)Article
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Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
introductionZimbabwe has one of the highest rates of private health insurance (PHI) expenditures as a share of total health expenditures in the world. The perfomamce of PHI, known as Medical Aid Societies in Zimbabwe, requires close monitoring since market failures and weaknesses in public policy and regulation can affect overall health system performance. Despite the considerable influence of politics (stakeholder interests) and history (past events) in shaping PHI design and implementation, these factors are frequently sidelined when analyzing PHI in Zimbabwe. This study considers the roles of history and politics in shaping PHI and determining its impact on health system performance in Zimbabwe.
methodsWe reviewed 50 sources of information using Arksey & O'Malley's (2005) methodological framework. To frame our analysis, we used a conceptual framework that integrates economic theory with political and historical aspects developed by Thomson et al. (2020) to analyze PHI in diverse contexts.
resultsWe present a timeline of the history and politics of PHI in Zimbabwe from the 1930s to present. Zimbabwe's current PHI coverage is segmented along socio-economic lines due to a long history of elitist and exclusionary politics in coverage patterns. While PHI was considered to perform relatively well up to the mid-1990s, the economic crisis of the 2000s eroded trust among insurers, providers, and patients. That culminated in agency problems which severely lessened PHI coverage quality with concurrent deterioration in efficiency and equity-related performance dimensions.
conclusionThe present design and performance of PHI in Zimbabwe is primarily a function of history and politics rather than informed choice. Currently, PHI in Zimbabwe does not meet the evaluative criteria of a well-performing health insurance system. Therefore, reform efforts to expand PHI coverage or improve PHI performance must explicitly consider the relevant historical, political and economic aspects for successful reformation.
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