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Navigating the Landscape of Child Health Insurance Coverage in Punjab, Pakistan: A Socioeconomic Perspective
Seemab Gillani1, Feng Wang1, Daniel Balsalobre-Lorente2,3,4
1School of Economics & Finance, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China.
Insights
Health insurance for children in Punjab, Pakistan, is increasing but remains insufficient. Key factors influencing coverage include maternal education, household wealth, and regional disparities, highlighting areas for targeted interventions to reduce child mortality.
Area of Science:
- Public Health
- Health Economics
- Pediatric Health
Background:
- Global trends show rising health insurance for children, yet progress is slow, leaving many children vulnerable to preventable diseases and mortality.
- Understanding health insurance coverage is crucial for improving healthcare access and utilization among children.
- Child mortality remains a significant concern, underscoring the need to address gaps in health insurance coverage.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the impact of child-specific, maternal, household, and regional factors on child health insurance coverage in Punjab, Pakistan.
- To identify socioeconomic determinants influencing health insurance uptake for children aged 5 to 17 years.
- To provide evidence-based recommendations for enhancing child health insurance coverage.
Main Methods:
- Utilized microdata from the Multiple Indicators Cluster Survey (MICS) for 35,453 children aged 5 to 17 years in Punjab, Pakistan.
- Employed logistic regression analysis to examine the associations between various determinants and child health insurance coverage.
- Analyzed child-specific (age, disability), maternal (education), household (wealth), and regional variables.
Main Results:
- Children aged 10-14 years were 15% less likely to have health insurance compared to those aged 5-9 years.
- Children with functional disabilities had 1.3 times higher odds of having health insurance coverage.
- Children from poorer households exhibited 2.6 times greater likelihood of having health insurance compared to those from the poorest households.
Conclusions:
- Maternal education levels, household economic status, and geographic location (southern Punjab) are significant factors affecting child health insurance coverage.
- Interventions focused on improving maternal education and household economic conditions can enhance insurance uptake.
- Targeted support for children in specific regions, like southern Punjab, is recommended to improve equitable access to healthcare coverage.
Abstract:
Getting health insurance for children's health care appears to be on the rise around the world. Nonetheless, progress is sluggish, and several cases of infections in children remain unaddressed, resulting in child mortality. A deeper understanding of health insurance coverage can improve health care utilization. Therefore, this study aims to find the impact of child-specific, maternal, household-related, and regional variables on child health insurance coverage in Punjab, Pakistan. The study is based on microdata (of 35,453 children aged 5 to 17 years) obtained from the Multiple Indicators Cluster Survey (MICS) to investigate the socioeconomic determinants of child insurance coverage. The study employed logistic regression and found that a child aged 10 to 14 was 15 percent less likely to have health insurance coverage than the reference category (i.e., child aged 5 to 9 years). A child with a functional disability had 1.3 times more chances to avail of health insurance than a child without any functional disabilities. Children from poorer households were 2.6 times more likely to have health insurance than those from the poorest households. The study concludes that an intervention based on raising maternal education levels, economic upliftment of households, and targeted support for the children of southern Punjab could improve child health insurance coverage in Punjab.
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