An Exploration Of The Factors Influencing Enrolment Into Community Health Fund: A Case Of Songea Municipality (Tanzania

ABSTRACT

This study examines the factors influencing enrolment into community health fund: A case of Songea Municipality (Tanzania)”.The objective of the study was to explore the factors influencing enrolment into the CHF, which was guided by three specific objectives. The objectives were: Exploring the community knowledge on CHF implementation; examining socio-cultural practices influences on enrolment into CHF; and finding out how the national health policy of 2007 influences enrolment into CHF in Songea Municipality. The study applied both qualitative and quantitative methods of data collection, presentation and analysis, focus group discussion and in-depth interview, social survey and documentary review. Sampling methods were purposive for in depth-interview and simple random sampling for social survey and FGD respondents. The sample size for social survey respondents was estimated using a formula by Yamane and distributed by a formula by Wilinkison and Bhandarkar where as in-depth interview respondents were purposively selected. Content analysis and SPSS Version 20 were used for analyzing qualitative data and quantitative data respectively. The main findings of the study portrayed that knowledge, cultural aspects of life and policy implementation have influence on people‟s willingness to enroll into CHF. Although, the community isreluctant to join CHF, there is a pressing need for affordable healthcare through prepayment arrangements instead of out-of pocket payment.Likewise, it was realized that enrolment into CHF is a subjective to other factorscomprisingof inadequateinformation on CHF, poor services in government facilities, mushrooming of alternative healing options and people‟s perception on prepayment system. Hereafter,sustained community sensitization,improving healthcare, full community involvement, execution of obligatory enrolment, and further research for determinants of enrolment into CHF are the study recommendations. Theoretically, studies of CHF need to focus on the use of multiple theories and multidisciplinary approaches.