Tertiary Institutions’ Social Health Insurance Program: Awareness, knowledge, and utilization for dental treatment among students of a Nigerian University

Background: Awareness and knowledge can play key roles in influencing the utilization of health insurance programs in Nigeria. Objectives: This study aims to investigate the awareness and use of the Tertiary Institutions/Voluntary Participant Social Health Insurance Program (TISHIP) for undergraduate dental services. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted in the Enugu Campus of the University of Nigeria and the study population comprised full-time undergraduate students of the institution with a total sample size of 400. Results: Majority (66.7%) of the respondents were aware of the TISHIP, but 37% were aware that it covered dental treatments, and 16.1% had received dental treatment under TISHIP. Fifty point eight percent (50.8%) of the respondents were not registered under the insurance program. The reason respondents had not registered was because majority (49.7%) were not aware of the compulsory registration into the scheme. Respondents agreed that TISHIP would promote equity in healthcare delivery (57.5%), promote improved health facilities (39.4%), and 52.5% were willing to participate in the scheme while 47.9% were undecided on whether TISHIP was worth the financial contribution. Presumed high cost of dental treatment (51.9%) and non-availability of materials for dental treatment at dental facilities (50.8%) were factors that affected the utilization of TISHIP (P < 0.05). Conclusion: Despite the positive effect of TISHIP in cushioning the cost of dental care, utilization is poor, thus there is a need to scale up awareness among the students’ population.