Health insurance non-enrollment among women in Sierra Leone: A cross-sectional analysis of the 2019 Demographic and Health Survey

Abstract

Health insurance non-enrollment was high among women in Sierra Leone. Education, employment, and exposure to listening to the radio were associated with increased health insurance enrollment, highlighting the need to address socioeconomic barriers and leveraging mass media campaigns to educate women on the importance of getting covered by health insurance. Geographic and regional disparities in health insurance enrollment underscore the importance of improving healthcare accessibility and implementing targeted, community-based interventions to promote health insurance uptake. Also, subsiding health insurance subscription fee could increase its enrollment, especially among women from low socioeconomic households.