Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39283567›Full record

ArticleHealth economics review2024

'The national health insurance policy provides little to no benefit to young persons living with type 1 diabetes (T1D)': a qualitative study of T1D management cost-burden in Southern Ghana.

Bernard Afriyie Owusu, Nana Ama Barnes, David Teye Doku

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In one paragraph

Article in Health economics review, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

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2citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
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

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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

2 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  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

3 authors.

Bernard Afriyie OwusuDepartment of Population and Health, University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast, Ghana. bernard.owusu@stu.ucc.edu.gh.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6216-4006
Nana Ama BarnesSutter Santa Rosa Family Medicine Residency Program, Santa Rosa, USA.
David Teye DokuDepartment of Population and Health, University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast, Ghana.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundType 1 diabetes (T1D) management exerts a considerable financial burden on patients, caregivers, and developing nations at large. In Ghana, a key governments effort to attenuate the financial burden of T1D on patients was to fashion safety-net mechanisms through financial risk pooling/sharing known as the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS). However, there is limited research on patients and caregivers' experiences with the cost of managing T1D within the NHIS in Ghana.

objectiveThis study explored the cost of T1D management, and the impact of the NHIS policy on mitigating costs of care.

methodsA semi-structured interview guide was developed to collect qualitative data from 28 young people living with T1D (PLWD), 12 caregivers, 6 healthcare providers, and other stakeholders in Western, Central and the Greater Accra regions. Multiple data collection techniques including mystery client and in-depth interviews were used to collect data. Thematic content analysis was performed with QSR NVivo 14.

resultsFive key domains/themes which are: cost of T1D management supplies; cost of clinical care; cost of transportation; cost of diet; and NHIS were identified. The daily cost of blood glucose testing and insulin injection per day was between GHC 5-7 (US$ 0.6 to 1.0). The NHIS did not cover supplies such as strips, glucometers, HbA1c tests, and periodic medical tests. Even for those cost which were covered by the NHIS (mainly pre-mixed insulin), marked government delays in funds reimbursement to accredited NHIS facilities compelled providers to push the financial obligation onto patients and caregivers. Such cost obligations were fulfilled through out-of-pocket top-up or full payment of insulin of about GHC 15-25 (US$ 2-4), and GHC 25-50 (US$4-8) depending on the region and place of residence.

conclusionThe cost of managing T1D was a burden for patients and their caregivers. There was a commodification of life-saving insulin on the Ghanaian market, and the NHIS did not function well to ease the cost-burden of T1D management on patients and caregivers. The findings call for the need to scale up NHIS services to include simple supplies, particularly test strips, and always ensure the availability of life-saving insulin in healthcare facilities.

Indexed as

DiabetesHealthcare financingHealth insuranceMystery client.SARS-COV-2Universal health coverage (UHC)

Identifiers

PMID39283567
PMCPMC11404021

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LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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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.