Factors influencing community health fund prepayment enrollment in igunga district, Tanzania.

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.