Evaluating end users’ knowledge and perceived benefit of the National Health Insurance Scheme post implementation in a south-west state of Nigeria

The National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) is designed to provide a cost- effective comprehensive health care delivery system for employees of formal sectors, self-employed, poor and vulnerable groups. Oyo state government approved the establishment of her health insurance scheme and there after sent an executive bill to the legislature for a swift consideration and approval. This study assessed the knowledge and perceived benefit of NHIS among civil servants in Oyo state, Nigeria. The study was a cross-sectional study conducted amongst 200 state civil servants. Participants were selected using convenient sampling technique and data was obtained using a structured questionnaire. Data was analyzed with SPSS v.25 to obtain frequencies, means and standard deviation. Respondents had good knowledge with a mean of 16.4±1.0 on an 18- point scale about NHIS while respondents had fair perceived benefit of the NHIS with a mean of 18.3±3.1 on a 35-point rating scale. Results denote knowledgeable end users who perceive to be benefiting from the scheme. The State Government is encouraged to expand the NHIS to other sectors to enable fuller coverage. More emphasis should be made on the benefits of enrollment to prompt high level willingness to enroll.