Mutual Health Insurance and Access to Care in the Health Zone of Kabinda, Kasai-Oriental, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)

Abstract

In the Democratic Republic of Congo, a large part of the population now lives in a context of extreme poverty and suffers from serious health problems. Deprived of social protection, these people see themselves therefore in the financial inability to access quality health care. This study aims to analyze the different characteristics of members of the mutual health insurance and compare with non-members. The following observations were made: Of those surveyed, 97.7% and 91.4% of members were not members resorted average 4 times to health services during the last 6 months prior to the survey, a statistically significant difference was observed (p = 0.027). The survey data showed that a significant proportion of members and non-members (62.5% vs 66.4%; p = 0.36) had resorted to self-medication. For non-members, the rate of self- medication and traditional therapy were higher. Lack of money is mentioned by members and non-members as a problem limiting access to health care (38.3% vs 69.5%; p < 0.0001).