COMPARATIVE ASSESSMENT OF PERCEIVED QUALITY OF ANTENATAL SERVICES AMONG INSURED AND UNINSURED PREGNANT WOMEN ATTENDING ANTENATAL CLINIC IN A TERTIARY HEALTH INSTITUTION, IN SOKOTO, NIGERIA. | LitMetric
Introduction: Access to quality antenatal care (ANC) is essential in reducing high maternal morbidity and mortality, especially in resource-poor countries. One way of ensuring financial accessibility to high-quality ANC services is through health insurance. This study assessed the perceived quality of services among insured and uninsured pregnant women attending the ANC at a tertiary health institution in Sokoto, Nigeria.
Methodology: A comparative cross-sectional study was carried out among 118 pregnant women selected via systematic sampling technique. Data were sought using a validated structured questionnaire and IBM SPSS version 25 was used for data analysis. Statistical significance was set at p < 0.05.
Result: Key socio-demographic variables (age, marital status, educational status) of the respondents were comparable concerning their health insurance status (p>0.05). Duration of registration time was significantly longer among the insured than the uninsured clients (p<0.001), however, time spent in waiting was comparable in both groups (p=0.936). Similarly, the ease of getting prescribed drugs and investigations was higher among uninsured compared to their insured counterparts (p<0.001). Clients in both groups were generally satisfied with the services received at the clinic, and there was no statistically significant difference between the two groups (p>0.05). No factor was found to be significantly associated with clients' satisfaction in both groups (p>0.05).
Conclusion: Insured clients spent considerably longer time in registration, laboratory, and in waiting to get their drugs after prescription. To reduce delay in obtaining investigation and prescribed drugs, a dedicated laboratory and pharmacy need to be provided within the antenatal clinic complex.
Background: A large number of people in Germany have no health insurance. Their access to the official healthcare system is significantly more difficult or impossible. Charitable institutions try to provide medical care and create parallel healthcare structures.
Objectives To determine if direct-to-consumer (DTC) laboratory testing is less expensive for patients, as is generally advertised, and whether it has any role in managing uninsured or underinsured patients. Methods The costs of six commonly ordered laboratory tests were obtained through two major DTC laboratories and compared with 42 physician-ordered, hospital-based laboratories in Florida. The costs of DTC tests were also compared to concurrent reimbursements from Medicare and Medicaid.
Background: Patients who have been discharged "against medical advice" (AMA) are at increased risk of morbidity and mortality, but there is little research about patients who have had more than one AMA discharge.
Objective: We aimed to describe the socio-demographic and clinical characteristics of patients with more than one AMA discharge.
Design: We conducted a cross-sectional, retrospective chart review of a sample of adult patients who were discharged AMA more than once between 2016 and 2021 and abstracted detailed characteristics of this sample.
Background: Cauda equina syndrome (CES) is a critical condition requiring timely intervention to prevent severe morbidity. This study investigates the epidemiology and socioeconomic factors influencing access to CES care in USA Emergency Departments.
Methods: Data was used from the Nationwide Emergency Department Sample (NEDS) from 2016-2020.
Objective: The Project Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes (ECHO) model is used in 180 countries to address chronic disease care through a provider empowerment, tele-education approach. Few studies have rigorously evaluated the impact of the program on patient outcomes using randomized designs.
Research Design And Methods: Implementation of an ECHO Diabetes program was evaluated using a stepped-wedge design with recruitment of 20 federally qualified health centers (FQHCs) across California and Florida with randomized, phased-in intervention entry.
