Determinants of Health Insurance Ownership among Women in Kenya: Evidence from the 2008-09 Kenya Demographic and Health Survey.

Background: The government of Kenya is making plans to implement a social health insurance program by transforming the National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF) into a universal health coverage program. This paper examines the determinants associated with health insurance ownership among Kenyan women.
Methods: Data came from the 2008-09 Kenya Demographic and Health Survey, a nationally representative survey. The sample comprised 8,435 women aged 15-49 years. Descriptive statistics and multivariate logistic regression analysis were used to describe the characteristics of the sample and to identify factors associated with health insurance ownership.
Results: Being employed in the formal sector, being married, having secondary education and higher, belonging to the middle and rich wealth status categories and residing in a female-headed household were associated with having health insurance. However, divorced, separated or widowed women were significantly less likely to have health insurance (OR= 0.4; p<0.05) compared to their counterparts who were never married.
Conclusion: As the Kenyan government transforms the NHIF into a universal health program, it is important to implement a program that will increase equity and access to health care services among women of different socio-demographic backgrounds.