Satisfaction with the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) Scheme Among Civil Servants at Mater Misericordiae Hospital, Afikpo, Ebonyi State, Nigeria

Abstract

Financial hardship is still one of the biggest hurdles to getting health care in low- and middle income countries. The National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), now the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) with the enactment of the NHIA Act 2022, was founded in Nigeria to promote access to quality healthcare through financial risk protection. While the enrolment of public sector workers has increased, questions remain about how satisfied beneficiaries are with the quality of healthcare services provided. The study determined the level of healthcare utilisation and satisfaction with NHIA services among civil servants attending Mater Misericordiae Hospital, Afikpo, Ebonyi State and suggested areas for service improvement. Descriptive cross-sectional research was undertaken on 150 insured civil servants selected by convenience sampling. Data were acquired by a semi-structured questionnaire devised by the researcher. The data were analysed by using descriptive statistics like frequencies and percentages. Results showed a satisfactory healthcare utilisation with 135 (90.0%) respondents visiting a healthcare institution within one to four days of onset of illness. Close to half of the respondents (72; 48.0%) reported spending between ₦1,001 and ₦2,000 on drugs at their last healthcare visit. Overall, the respondents were fairly satisfied with the services of NHIA. Those satisfied were 70 respondents (46.7%). However, 102 (68.0%) agreed that the plan needs to be improved. The main areas suggested for improvement were shorter waiting time (80; 53.3%), better attitude of the staff (70; 46.7%) and more availability of the recommended medications (42; 28.0%). The survey showed that there was adequate utilisation of healthcare services among insured public officials. However, overall satisfaction with NHIA services is modest. There is the need to improve service quality, especially in terms of waiting time, contact between staff and patients and availability of drugs, to boost enrolled satisfaction and build confidence in the NHIA programme.

Keywords: National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA); Health Care Utilisation; Patients’ Satisfaction; Civil Servants; Nigeria

Citation

Egondu OH, Francis EI. Satisfaction with the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) Scheme Among Civil Servants at Mater Misericordiae Hospital, Afikpo, Ebonyi State, Nigeria. WebLog J Community Med. wjcm.2026. h2802. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.22162457