Christine J. Fenenga

• PhD, MPH
• Senior Researcher at University of Groningen

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0222651.].

Background In the past 15 years, the decline in annually detected leprosy patients has stagnated. To reduce the transmission of Mycobacterium leprae, the World Health Organization recommends single-dose rifampicin (SDR) as post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) for contacts of leprosy patients. Various approaches to administer SDR-PEP have been piloted. H...

Health insurance enrollment in many Sub‐Saharan African countries is low, even with highly subsidized premiums and exemptions for vulnerable populations. One possible explanation is low service quality, which results in a low valuation of health insurance. Using a randomized control trial in 64 primary health care facilities in Ghana, this study as...

Background In Southeast Asia, diabetes and hypertension are on the rise and have become major causes of death. Community-based interventions can achieve the required behavioural change for better prevention. The aims of this review are 1) to assess the core health-components of community-based interventions and 2) to assess which contextual factors...

Background Knowledge of antibiotic prescription practices in low- and middle-income countries is limited due to a lack of adequate surveillance systems. Objective To assess the prescription of antibiotics for the treatment of acute respiratory tract infections (ARIs) in primary care. Method An explanatory sequential mixed-methods study was conduc...

Background The National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) was introduced in Ghana in 2003, enrolment is still far from the desired target of universal coverage. Low community engagement in the design and management of the system was identified as one of the main barriers. The aim of the current study was to explore the role of social capital in NHIS e...

Background: Patent and Proprietary Medicine Vendors (PPMVs) are a ubiquitous feature of the informal health sector in many African countries including Nigeria. Little has been reported about the services they render. This study assessed the operations and role of PPMVs in selected rural communities of Edu LGA, Kwara State, Nigeria

Background: Patent and Proprietary Medicine Vendors (PPMVs) are a ubiquitous feature of the informal health sector in many African countries including Nigeria. Little has been reported about the services they render. This study assessed the operations and role of PPMVs in selected rural communities of Edu LGA, Kwara State, Nigeria

Background Critical health literacy enables older adults to make informed health decisions and take actions for the health and wellbeing of themselves and their community, within their own social and cultural context. A community-based approach has the potential to improve the critical health literacy of older adults and their communities. However,...

We present qualitative data from a study in Ghana (2011), where the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) was introduced to improve access to health care. In 2011 membership enrolment and retention in the scheme was stalling. To obtain better insights into socio-cultural factors that influence utilization of healthcare services and the NHIS this...

People’s decision to enroll in a health insurance scheme is determined by socio-cultural and socio-economic factors. On request of the National health Insurance Authority (NHIA) in Ghana, our study explores the influence of social relationships on people’s perceptions, behavior and decision making to enroll in the National Health Insurance Scheme....

Aging in Sub-Saharan Africa causes major challenges for policymakers in social protection. Our study focuses on Ghana, one of the few Sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries that passed a National Policy on Aging in 2010. Ghana is also one of the first SSA countries that launched a National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) (NHIS Act 650, 2003) with the a...

This methodological paper systematically describes the steps towards exploring client-perceived barriers to enroll in the National Health Insurance Scheme in Ghana. To respond to the stagnating enrollment rate and to provide evidence-based information for developing policy and practice, the request for this study was made by the insurance authority...

The challenges faced by African countries that have pioneered a national health insurance scheme (NHIS) and the lessons learned can be of great value to other countries, contemplating the introduction of such a health financing system. In 2003, Ghana initiated the NHIS to provide access to healthcare for people in both the formal and informal secto...

Background: The population of Ghana is increasingly becoming urbanized with 50.9% of the estimated 24 million people currently living in urban areas compared to 43.8% in the year 2000. Nonetheless, eight out of the ten regions in Ghana remain predominately rural where only 32.1% of the national health sector workforce works. Doctor patient ratio in...

A Health Management Information System (HMIS) can be a powerful tool to make health care delivery more effective and far more efficient. This paper describes how an HMIS can also be used for organisational development and reports on the experiences of the HMIS programme of the Uganda Catholic Medical Bureau (UCMB) in Uganda. The programme forms par...