The association between media exposure and enrollment in health insurance in Nepal: Implications for health policy

Abstract

Exposure to mass media plays a crucial role in behavior change or decision‐making. The study used a cross‐sectional survey design. A total of 810 households were randomly selected for data collection by using a validated interview schedule. The study examined exposure to radio, television (TV), hoarding boards (billboards), newspapers, and brochures, pamphlets, and posters as media platform “independent variables” and enrollment in health insurance (HI) as the “dependent variable.” Data showed that 60% of the respondents had exposure to HI information with electronic (radio and TV) media and 33% had exposure via printed or displayed media. All these media were significantly associated with enrollment in HI. But exposure to HI‐related information from radio (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 1.91, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.39–2.61, p < 0.001), TV (aOR = 1.72, 95% CI = 1.25–2.38, p < 0.01), and hoarding board (billboard) (aOR = 1.87, 95% CI = 1.25–2.81, p < 0.01) were the significant predictor for enrollment in HI. The study findings suggest that it would be best to consider the use of these predictor communication channels when making strategic communication plans to promote HI enrollment in Nepal.

Mass Media Exposure and Health Insurance: The Moderating Role of Education and Wealth among Community-dwelling Older Adults from the Longitudinal Aging Study in India

“…The ndings of the multivariate regression analysis revealed that media exposure, MPCE, and education all signi cantly affect HI enrolment. The ndings of this study are likewise in line with those of numerous other studies conducted in Ghana [25,36], Nepal [24], South Korea [37], Kenya [38,39], and India [40],…”

“…The ndings based on Ghana's Demographic and Health Survey (2014) highlighted the positive association between enrolment in the country's National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS-2003) and mass media exposure [25]. A review of the literature reveals that those who got information related to HI from radio, TV, and hoarding had 1.91 times, 1.72 times, and 1.87 times higher likelihoods of being enrolled in HI respectively [24]. Further, a study conducted before launching three mega community health insurance schemes in India reveals that increasing awareness is one of the important preconditions for voluntary enrolment in those government schemes [41].…”

“…In low-and middle-income nations, the mass media signi cantly increased the number of people who purchased health insurance coverage [24,25]. Prior research found that the media signi cantly helped to promote healthcare services [23,28,29], but few studies found a link between media exposure and health insurance coverage in India.…”

“…In underdeveloped nations like India, a lack of nancial resources is one of the main barriers to health insurance, with a lack of awareness coming in second [22]. Along with the aforementioned elements, studies have also shown that the mass media signi cantly contributes to raising public knowledge regarding the use of healthcare services [23] and health insurance coverage in Ghana and Nepal [24,25]. The relationship between mass media exposure (MME) and a variety of sociodemographic and economic factors has also been established [26].…”

Uptake of health insurance in Malawi in 2019-2020: Evidence from the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey

“…Similar to our study, exposure to media, socioeconomic rank and the level of education had the greatest contribution to inequality in coverage with any type of health insurance in SSA [2]. A study conducted in Nepal, Ghana and Ethiopia also found that mass media exposure was significantly associated with high enrollment in HI [15] [16] [17] [18]. This has implications in utilization of the various media communication channels in making strategic communication plans to promote health insurance uptake in Malawi or any other similar settings.…”