The focus of this study is the vicious circle of poverty and ill-health. The case is injuries but it could have been any lasting and severe disease. Poverty and health have very close links to economic development and to how health care is financed. Out-of-pocket payment seems to increase the risk of poverty while prepaid health care reduces it. The overall objective is to investigate the “injury poverty trap” and suggest possible solutions for it. A cohort of 23,807 people living in 5,801 households in Bavi district of Vietnam was followed from 1999 to 2003 to investigate income losses caused by non-fatal unintentional injuries in 2000 as well as the relationships between social position in 1999 and those injuries. For the possible solutions, a survey in 2064 household was performed to elicit people’s preferences and willingness to pay for different health care financing options. The results showed that unintentional injuries imposed a large economic burden on society, especially on the victims. By two pathways – treatment costs and income losses – unintentional injury increased the risk of being poor. The losses for non-poor and poor injured households were about 15 and 11 months of income of an average person in the non-poor and poor group, respectively. Furthermore, poverty was shown to be a probable cause of non-fatal unintentional injuries. Specifically, poverty led to home injuries among children and the elderly, and adults 15 – 49 years of age were particularly at risk in the workplace. The middle-income group was at greatest risk for traffic injuries, probably due to the unsafe use of bicycles or motorbikes. About half of the population preferred to keep an out-of-pocket system and the other half preferred health insurance. People’s willingness to pay suggested that a community-based health insurance scheme would be feasible. However, improvements in the existing health insurance systems are imperative to attract people to participate in these or any alternative health insurance schemes, since the limitations of the existing systems were generalized to health insurance as a whole. A successful solution should follow two tracks: prepayment of health care and some insurance based compensation of income losses during the illness period. If the risk of catastrophic illness is more evenly spread across the society, it would increase the general welfare even if no more resources are provided.

Background: In 2007, Saskatchewan’s Ministry of Health launched the Seniors’ Drug Plan (SDP), whereby provincial beneficiaries at or above the age of 65 receive medications at a maximum self-payment of $15. The purpose of this study was to document the impact of the SDP using provincial health-administrative databases. Methods: Aggregate medication utilization and costs were described using the prescription drug database starting two years before the implementation of the SDP and continuing for two years after. Interrupted time series analysis using segmented regression models were developed to test the impact of the SDP. Also, the probability of achieving optimal medication adherence was examined among cohorts receiving medications after SDP implementation versus similar patients receiving medications before the SDP and also a group of patients <65 years who were not eligible for the SDP at all. The impact of the SDP on the outcome of optimal adherence was estimated using logistic regression models with generalized estimating equations (GEE). Results: Monthly government spending on medications increased by 47.5% following implementation of the SDP, while total medication dispensations only increased by 5.8%. The SDP was associated with more dispensations per month among prevalent users (+5.4%, 95% CI: 1.3% to 9.5%) but not incident users who did not receive the study medication in the previous 365 days (+1.3%, 95% CI: -8.0% to 10.7%). Similarly, the SDP did not appear to impact the use of blood-glucose-lowering agents, (-0.5%, 95% CI: -6.2% to 5.2%). A small but significant increase in the odds of optimal medication adherence was observed after the SDP compared with before (OR=1.08, 95% CI 1.04 to 1.11). However, the impact was only observed in prevalent users (OR=1.08, 95% CI 1.04 to 1.12), but not incident users (OR=1.05, 95% CI 0.98 to 1.13). Also, the impact of the SDP on medication adherence was not consistent for all medication classes examined. Discussion: In summary, the SDP resulted in substantially higher government investment into drug costs without a major effect on medication utilization and adherence. However, cost reduction for seniors must have provided substantial relief independent of the impact on adherence and utilization.

Given the general poor state of health care and the devastating effect of user fee, the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) was instituted as a health financing policy with the main purpose to ensure universal access for all Nigerians. However, since NHIS became operational in 2005, only members of scheme are able to access health care both in the public and in private sectors, representing about 3% of Nigerian population. The thesis therefore examines the design and implementation policy of NHIS in Oyo state, Nigeria. Key design issues conceptual framework guides the analysis of data. The framework identifies three health interrelated financing functions namely revenue collection, risk pooling and purchasing. Data was collected from the NHIS officials, employees of the Health Maintenance Organisations (HMOs) and the Health Care Providers (HCPs) using key informant interview. In addition, in-depth interview and semi structure questionnaire were used to gather data from the enrolees and the nonenrolees. Empirical findings show that NHIS is fragmented given the existence of several programmes. In addition, there is no risk pooling neither redistribution of funds in the scheme. Revenue generated through contributions from the enrolees was not sufficient to fund health care services received by the beneficiaries because of the small percentage of the Nigerian population that the scheme covers. Further findings indicate that enrolled federal civil servants have not commenced monthly contribution to the NHIS. They pay 10% as co-pay in every consultation while federal government as an employer subsidised by 90%. Majority (76.8%) of the respondents agreed that they were financially protected from catastrophic spending. However, the overall benefit package was rated moderate because of exclusion of some priority and essential health care needs. Although above half (57%) of the respondents concurred that HMOs are accessible, in the overall, (47.6%) of the respondents were not satisfied with their services. In the case of the HCPs, majority (61.9%) of the respondents claimed that there is no excessive waiting time for consultation. Furthermore, (64.3%) rated their interpersonal relationship with the HCPs to be good. However, more than half of the respondents (54%) disagreed on availability of prescribed drugs in NHIS accredited health facilities. For the nonenrolees, findings show that most of the respondents (72.9%) were willing to enrol, but significant proportion (47.5%) indicated financial constraint as impediment to enrolment. / Sociology / D. Phil. (Sociology)