Users's satisfaction towards the Health Equity Fund: a case study at Nong District Hospital, Savannakhet, Lao PDR

Abstract

The Health Equity Fund is a social assistance scheme for the poor whose income is lower than the poverty eradication target in Lao PDR and unable to enroll in any kind of health insurance. Health Equity Fund (HEF) is a fund which implements the government’s policy in helping poor population to access to health care services. It is a non-profit fund with tax exemption. The objective of this study was to identify the level of users’ satisfaction towards the HEF at Nong District, Savannakhet Province, Lao PDR. The key elements of satisfaction were concerned with curative service, food allowance, transportation, and copayment. A structured questionnaire was applied to collect data from 336 patients who ever used health care service at health center or district hospital. The findings revealed that patient’s satisfaction (out of 5 score) towards curative service was at the high level (x = 4.19, SD = 0.35), but low for transportation (x = 1.75, SD = 0.48), food allowance (x = 1.72, SD = 0.46), and co-payment (x = 1.75, SD = 0.49). In conclusion, patient satisfaction level was high for curative service. From these results, there was a suggestion that HEF had to improve service satisfaction for transportation, food allowance, and co-payment.