Knowledge and attitude toward the selection of health insurance type after retirement in Ratchaburi province Thailand

Abstract

This research was a cross-sectional research aimed at studying the knowledge and attitude toward the selection of health insurance type after retirement in Ratchaburi province. The research objectives were to describe and to find the factors associated with the selection of health insurance type. The research samples were those between 50-59 years old who were under Universal Coverage Scheme (UCS) and had been living in Ratchaburi province. Total samples were 430. Data collection was done by the use of questionnaire incorporating information on general personal data, on knowledge about Universal Coverage Scheme and private health insurance, and on attitude toward the selection of health insurance type. Data was collected during April and May 2016. The statistics in use were descriptive statistics and the Chi-square test to find an association between general personal data, knowledge scores, and attitude scores toward the selection of health insurance type. The study found that the sample age was between 50 to 53 years old (40.9%), 61.2% were female, 72.3% finished their primary school, 36.7% were occupied as an employee, 54.0% had their personal average monthly income less than 15,000 baht. 30.0% of the samples had their average family monthly income between 15,001-20,000 baht, 43.3% had their average monthly expense less than 10,000 baht. Most of them were married (71.2%) with 2 children (46.3%). The level of knowledge was poor and the attitude level toward the selection of health insurance type was high. About half of the respondents would continue to use UCS after retirement and the other half would also use private health insurance. The result revealed that scores of knowledge and attitude were associated with the selection (p-value <0.05). It was concluded that knowledge and attitude had an effect on the selection of health insurance type.