Abstract:
In Igunga district of Tanzania, community health fund (CHF) has been in operation
since 1996. CHF is a form of community based health care financing that involves
household prepayment for health care on an annual basis.
CHF household membership in 1998 was 5.6%. The target for that year was 65%. In
1999, the CHF household membership was 22.5%. Hence, there was a wide discrepancy
between level achieved and target. Therefore, the main study objective was to assess
factors that influence the level of CHF household enrollment. To achieve the objectives,
a cross-sectional descriptive study, which was also partially analytic, was adopted.
The study findings revealed that: the level of CHF awareness at the household level was
sub-optimal. Travel time from the villages to the health facility was negatively
correlated to both CHF awareness and CHF membership levels. The current (2000+)
CHF household membership rate was 27.3%. Other findings in relation to membership
included a CHF membership continuation rate of 24.5% and a dropout rate of 9.4% in
the period 1996-2000. The rate of new membership recruitment was 2.7% in the year
2000.
Based on the findings, it is recommended that sustained CHF promotional campaigns
especially in villages that are located far from health facilities be initiated.
