Picking up the bill - Improving health-care utilisation in the Democratic Republic of Congo through user fee subsidisation: A before and after study

BMC Health Services Research

Volumn 14, Issue 1, 2014, Pages

  Maini, Rishma ^a   Van Den Bergh, Rafael ^b   Van Griensven, Johan ^c   Tayler Smith, Katie ^b   Ousley, Janet ^d   Carter, Daniel ^a   Mhatre, Seb ^a   Ho, Lara ^d   Zachariah, Rony ^b  

^a British Embassy ^*  (United Kingdom)

^b MÉDECINS SANS FRONTIÈRES   (Belgium)

^c INSTITUTE OF TROPICAL MEDICINE   (Belgium)

^d INTERNATIONAL RESCUE COMMITTEE   (Congo)

Author keywords

DRC; Health care utilisation; Operational research; Subsidisation; User fees

Indexed keywords

DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC CONGO; DEVELOPING COUNTRY; ECONOMICS; EPIDEMIOLOGY; FEE; HEALTH CARE DELIVERY; HEALTH CARE POLICY; HEALTH SERVICE; HUMAN; PATIENT ATTITUDE; UTILIZATION;

DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO; DEVELOPING COUNTRIES; FEES AND CHARGES; HEALTH POLICY; HEALTH SERVICES; HEALTH SERVICES ACCESSIBILITY; HUMANS; INTERRUPTED TIME SERIES ANALYSIS; PATIENT ACCEPTANCE OF HEALTH CARE;

EID: 84920847995     PISSN: None     EISSN: 14726963     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1186/s12913-014-0504-6     Document Type: Article

References (32)

1. Harmonisation for Health in Africa Blogs. http://www.healthfinancingafrica. org/3/post/2013/04/a-history-of-the-bamako-initiative-12-under-theleadership-of-mr-grant-and-dr-mahler.html.
2. Garner P: The Bamako Initiative: financing health in Africa by selling drugs. BMJ 1989, 299:277-278.
3. Dupas P: Global Health Systems: Pricing and User Fees. www.stanford. edu/~pdupas/Dupas-Pricing&UserFees.pdf.
4. International Monetary Fund. http://www.imf.org/external/np/exr/facts/ mdri.htm.
5. Ponsar F, Tayler-Smith K, Philips M, Gerard S, Van Herp M, Reid T, Zachariah R: No cash, no care: how user fees endanger health-lessons learnt regarding financial barriers to health-care services in Burundi, Sierra Leone, Democratic Republic of Congo, Chad, Haiti and Mali. Int Health 2011, 3:91-100.
6. Lagarde M, Palmer N: The impact of user fees on access to health services in low-and middle-income countries. Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2011, 4: CD009094.
7. Lagarde M, Barroy H, Palmer N: Assessing the effects of removing user fees in Zambia and Niger. J Health Serv Res Policy 2012, 17(1):30-36.
8. Campbell J, Oulton J, McPake B, Buchan J: Removing user fees? Engage the health workforce. Lancet 2009, 374:1966.
9. McPake B, Witter S, Ensor T, Fustukian S, Newlands D, Martineau T, Chirwa Y: Removing financial barriers to access reproductive maternal and newborn health services: the challenges and policy implications for human resources for health. Hum Resour Health 2013, 11:46.
10. Burnham GM, Pariyo G, Galiwango E, Wabire-Mangen F: Discontinuation of cost sharing in Uganda. Bull World Health Organ 2004, 82:187-195.
11. Gilson L, McIntyre D: Removing user fees for primary care in Africa: the need for careful action. BMJ 2005, 331:762-765.
12. Nabyongo Orem J, Mugisha F, Kirunga C, Macq J, Criel B: Abolition of user fees: the Uganda paradox. Health Policy Plan 2011, 26:41-51.
13. James CD, Hanon K, McPake B, Balabanova D, Gwatkin D, Hopwood I, Kirunga C, Knippenberg C, Meessen B, Morris SS, Preker A, Soutevrand Y, Tibouti A, Villeneuve P, Xu K: To retain or remove user fees? Reflections on the current debate in low-and middle-income countries. Appl Health Econ Health Policy 2006, 5(3):137-153.
14. National Health Accounts DRC (2008-2009) Health Systems 20/20. http:// www.healthsystems2020.org/section/where-we-work/drc/nha.
15. World Development Indicators Online. http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY. GNP.PCAP.CD.
16. World Bank PovCalNet. http://iresearch.worldbank.org/PovcalNet/ povcalSvy.html.
17. Hogan MC, Foreman KJ, Naghavi M, Ahn SY, Wang M, Makela SM, Lopez AD, Lozano R, Murray CJ: Maternal mortality for 181 countries, 1980-2008: a systematic analysis of progress towards Millennium Development Goal 5. Lancet 2010, 375(9726):1609-1627.
18. Black RE, Cousens S, Johnson HL, Lawn JE, Rudan I, Bassani DG, Jha P, Campbell H, Walker CF, Cibulskis R, Eisele T, Liu L, Mathers C: Child health epidemiology reference group of WHO and UNICEF: global, regional, and national causes of child mortality in 2008: a systematic analysis. Lancet 2010, 375(9730):1969-1987.
19. Ministry of Planning: Document de Stratégie de la Croissance et de la Réduction de Pauvreté. Kinshasa: Government of the Democratic Republic of Congo; 2006.
20. Ministry of Health: Document de Stratégie de Renforcement du Système de Santé. Kinshasa: Government of the Democratic Republic of Congo; 2006.
21. DFID Access to health-care in the Democratic Republic of Congo (2008-2013). http://projects.dfid.gov.uk/projects/GB-1-105861.
22. Turner T: The Congo Wars: Conflict, Myth, and Reality. New York: Zed Books; 2007.
23. 1984 Latest census in DRC. http://rtkapend.wordpress.com/2012/02/17/drcpopulation-by-age-group-latest-census-1984.
24. The World Bank: Democratic Republic of Congo. http://web.worldbank.org/.
25. Lagarde M: How to do (or not to do)⋯Assessing the impact of a policy change with routine longitudinal data. Health Policy Plan 2011, 27(1):1-8.
26. Dzakpasu S, Powell-Jackson T, Campbell OMR: Impact of user fees on maternal health utilisation and related outcomes: a systematic review. Health Policy Plan 2014, 29(2):137-150.
27. Witter S: Health financing in fragile and post-conflict states: what do we know and what are the gaps? Soc Sci Med 2012, 75(12):2370-2377.
28. Morena-Serro R, Smith PC: Does progress towards universal health coverage improve population health? Original text. Lancet 2012, 380(9845):917-923.
29. Steinhardt LC, Aman I, Pakzad I, Kumar B, Singh LP, Peters DH: Removing user fees for basic health services: a pilot survey and national roll-out in Afghanistan. Health Policy Plan 2011, 26(Suppl 2):92-103.
30. Ponsar F, Herp MV, Zachariah R, Gerard S, Philips M, Jouquet G: Abolishing user fees for children and pregnant women trebled uptake of malariarelated inteventions in Kangaba, Mali. Health Policy Plan 2011, 26:72-83.
31. DFID Access to Health-Care in the Democratic Republic of Congo (2013-2018). http://projects.dfid.gov.uk/projects/GB-1-202732.
32. Hercot D, Meesen B, Ridde V, Gilson L: Removing user fees for health services in low-income countries: a multi-country review framework for assessing the process of policy change. Health Policy Plan 2011, 26:5-15.