CBHI in India (FP7)
Examine a new model of CBHI that is affordable, responsive, and inclusive which is designed to promote:
In most developing countries, including India, the lion's share of health spending is made out of pocket. This leads to impoverishment and low access to health care, especially for weaker segments of the population. CBHI has the potential to reduce the severe consequences of unforeseen illness. However, in order to make use of the scarce resources available and build systems offering value to the poor, it is important to have a detailed and evidence based understanding on the impact of CBHI.
This project sets out to investigate the aspects important for the successful implementation of CBHI. It does so through a set of controlled randomized trials through which CBHI is implemented in villages of two states of India (Uttar Pradesh and Bihar). Rigorous longitudinal research is used to identify causal effects of CBHI on equitable access to healthcare and financial protection. The two states selected for implementation are among the poorest in India, yet the intervention areas vary from each other in their socio-economic, epidemiological and cultural profiles. We seek this diversity in order to enhance the validity of the claim that lessons learned could be applied to other settings as well. We apply quantitative research (longitudinal panel; series of economic experiments) along with in-depth qualitative analysis and spatial data.
The project will be conducted by MIA in partnership with:
This project is being funded by a grant through the Seventh Framework Programme of the European Commission (EC-FP7), of the European Union.
Field Work:
The main researchers are based in India (MIA), Germany (University of Cologne), and the Netherlands (Erasmus University-Rotterdam)
The CBHI India project was initiated in August 2009. The project's core research hypotheses as well as data collection tools were refined in the following months, in light of the discussion held at the project's first Advisory Board meeting in November 2009. Baseline quantitative, qualitative and spatial research was carried out for 8 months, running consecutively from January to August 2010. CBHI implementation activities for each site have been ongoing since Apr 2010, and have been intensified from September 2010 onwards, following the completion of baseline research. Highlights include: