Economic Impacts of Income Shocks on Households in Osun State, Nigeria

Abstract

This study assessed the causes of income shocks and the long term effects of income shocks on household healthcare use in Osun State, Nigeria. The study was a cross-sectional survey which employed multi-stage sampling techniques. A total of 485 households participated in the study and the data was analyzed through descriptive and inferential statistics. The results indicated that the common causes of income shocks are job loss, business income paralysis, wage reduction, delayed payment of salaries/pensions, drought, flood, crime and civil unrest. The binary logistic regression performed revealed significantly lower odds of healthcare use (using healthcare facility used, amount spent, and the number of visits) among those that experienced any form of income shock relative to those who had no experience of income shock.  It other factors that also significantly influenced healthcare use are age, education, gender, income, family size, and health insurance (which increased the odds of utilizing a public or private healthcare facility by 748% when compared with other healthcare facilities). These findings suggest the need for active participation in the health insurance scheme, which can absorb the effect of income shocks on households.