Abodunrin Olunike Rebecca, Adebayo Ezekiel Taiwo, Adewole Ifeoluwa E, Olagunju Mobolaji Timothy, Ekeh Chibueze, Samuel Ibitoye Oluwabunmi, Zamba Emmanuella, Gbaja-Biamila Titilola, Akinsolu Folahanmi Tomiwa, Eleje George Uchenna, Tantawi Maha El, Ezechi Oliver Chukwujekwu, Foláyan Morẹ́nikẹ́ Oluwátóyìn
Department of Planning and Research, Lagos State Health Management Agency, Ikeja, Nigeria.
Oral Health Initiative, Nigerian Institute of Medical Research, Yaba, Lagos, Nigeria.
BMC Health Serv Res. 2025 Jan 3;25(1):14. doi: 10.1186/s12913-024-12177-4.
Despite assumptions that insurance coverage would boost oral healthcare utilization in Nigeria, there is insufficient evidence supporting this claim. This study investigates the associations between residential location, awareness of the oral health insurance scheme, history of dental service utilization, and acceptance of oral health insurance among individuals benefiting from the Ilera Eko Scheme; a scheme that integrates preventive and curative oral health care into the state health insurance scheme.
A cross-sectional survey was conducted from July to November 2023 recruiting from a database of 1520 enrollees aged of 18 and 72-years-old who had been on the scheme for at least three months. An interviewer-administered questionnaire was used to collect the data from participants living in five regions of Lagos State. The dependent variable was dental service utilization. The independent variables were awareness about Ilera Eko health insurance scheme, history of oral health problem, residential location of the respondents (Lagos Island, Badagry, Epe, Ikorodu and Ikeja), and perception about the scheme. The confounding variables were the age at last birthday, sex at birth (male or female), educational level (no education, primary, secondary, and tertiary education), level of income (< 50,000, 50,000-10000, 150,000-200,000, > 200,000), employment status (employed, self-employed and unemployed), marital status (single, married, divorced. widow/widower) and duration on the scheme (< 6 months, 6-12 months, > 12 months). A binary logistic regression analysis was conducted to determine the associations between the dependent and independent variables, controlling for confounders.
The study recruited 485 participants of which 31 (6.4%) had used the oral health care services. Respondents with oral health problems had higher odds of using the scheme (AOR:21.065; p < 0.001). Residents in Ikeja had significantly lower odds of using the scheme when compared with residents in Lagos Island (AOR: 0.174; p = 0.005).
Respondents with oral health problems had higher odds of using the oral health insurance scheme. Innovative approaches are needed to drive the utilization of free dental service packages on health insurance schemes in Lagos State, especially for preventive care.
尽管人们认为保险覆盖范围会促进尼日利亚的口腔医疗服务利用，但缺乏支持这一说法的充分证据。本研究调查了居住地点、口腔健康保险计划的知晓情况、牙科服务利用史以及受益于伊莱拉·埃科计划的个人对口腔健康保险的接受程度之间的关联；该计划将预防性和治疗性口腔保健纳入了州健康保险计划。
2023年7月至11月进行了一项横断面调查，从一个包含1520名年龄在18岁至72岁之间、已加入该计划至少三个月的参保者的数据库中招募参与者。使用由访谈员管理的问卷从居住在拉各斯州五个地区的参与者那里收集数据。因变量是牙科服务利用情况。自变量是对伊莱拉·埃科健康保险计划的知晓情况、口腔健康问题史、受访者的居住地点（拉各斯岛、巴达格里、埃佩、伊科罗杜和伊凯贾）以及对该计划的看法。混杂变量是上一个生日时的年龄、出生时的性别（男或女）、教育水平（未接受教育、小学、中学和高等教育）、收入水平（<50,000、50,000 - 100,000、150,000 - 200,000、>200,000）、就业状况（受雇、自营职业和失业）、婚姻状况（单身、已婚、离婚、丧偶）以及加入该计划的时长（<6个月、6 - 12个月、>12个月）。进行二元逻辑回归分析以确定因变量和自变量之间的关联，并控制混杂因素。
该研究招募了485名参与者，其中31人（6.4%）使用过口腔保健服务。有口腔健康问题的受访者使用该计划的几率更高（调整后比值比：21.065；p < 0.001）。与拉各斯岛的居民相比，伊凯贾的居民使用该计划的几率显著更低（调整后比值比：0.174；p = 0.005）。
有口腔健康问题的受访者使用口腔健康保险计划的几率更高。需要创新方法来推动拉各斯州健康保险计划中免费牙科服务套餐的利用，特别是预防性护理方面。
