Healthcare Financing For the Aging Population in Kenya

In Nursing, quality improvement is a systemic and continuous action that leads to measurable improvement of nursing care on special group of patients. Universal Health care and strengthening health equity for the ageing population is one of the top policy priorities of the Government of Kenya. Although an aging population is the positive result of social progress, economic development, health care improvement, it makes challenges to the growth of economies as the shortage of labor resource, rising health cost, social security, impact on savings, investment, consumption, shifting migration flows. The purpose of this study is to assess the universal health care needs for the aging population. Specifically, the study sought to examine the status of healthcare financing population among the aging population in Kanduyi Sub-county, Drawing from the Social Disengagement and Activity Theories, this study provided empirical evidence healthcare financing influence on the wellbeing of the aging population. Mixed method approach will be adopted. The target population of the study were elderly citizens of aged sixty five (65) years and above. The total sample comprised 385 respondents with a mean response rate of 95%. Data was collected through questionnaires. The results revealed most of the aging population in lacked health financing plan and medical insurance. The study demonstrated that the majority of respondents 60% had did not get health care financing form the government. The result shows that source of financial support, managing bills, source of care, medication and mode of transport and characteristics like income, size and headship commonly influence healthcare expenditure. The finding of the study provide recommendations for policy implication as the rights of aging persons are anchored in the Constitution of Kenya, Article 57, and hence the need for a policy and legislation that facilitates enjoyment of these rights