Accessibility to Health Care and Financial Obstacles: Evidence from Uganda

The research project intends to investigate the issue of health care accessibility with respect to financial obstacles focusing on the case study of Uganda, where impoverishing effects due to health services utilisation are critical for the population well-being. The thesis consists of three independent chapters aimed to examine multiple aspects which are relevant for health coverage and financial protection. In the first chapter, a political economy perspective is adopted to analyse the country experience of health financing reforms for Universal Health Coverage through a desk review and Key Informant Interviews. In the second chapter, household data from a rural district are employed to explore how the provision of social support through social networks operates at the behavioural level for overcoming barriers to health care utilisation and coping with financial hardship due to health expenditures. The analysis presented in the third chapter relies on a longitudinal household survey to assess the impact of a Community Health Financing pilot program on health expenditures and coping strategies. Overall, the thesis can contribute to the current debate on health coverage in Low- and Middle-Income Countries. On one side, the new evidence based on the collection of primary data and the adoption of innovative methodologies allows to advance the academic knowledge on financial protection. On the other side, the main research findings have the potential to inform policy design and policy making to effectively improve health coverage outcomes in informal settings.