The impact of microfinance programmes on access to health care, knowledge to health indicators and health status among women in Moshi, Tanzania

Background: Microfinance Institutions (MFI) award small loans and women are the primary target. Whilst much literature has explored and acknowledged its impact on poverty alleviation and gender equality few studies have examined whether the added income also improves health outcomes to program clients. This study examined the association between participation in MFI programmes and wellbeing of clients and their family members via social determinants of health in Moshi, Tanzania.
Methods: Cross-sectional data among non-elderly women were collected between October and December 2011. Multistage random sampling technique was employed to obtain study participants. The primary predictor variable was participation in MFI programs while the outcome measures were: odds of facing exclusion to health care, knowledge to health indicators related to health promotion, and self-assessed health status. A questionnaire was used to collect extensive data on demographic and socioeconomic information of the study participants.
Results: A total of 900 women participated in the study. Program participation was found to be associated with increasing age (p<0.001), increasing number of living children (p<0.002) and level of income (p<0.001). We found no association between program participation and access to health care, knowledge to health indicators related to health promotion and self-assessed health status. Only one out of seven indicators (14.2%) was significantly associated with MFI participation and access to health care. Two out of six (33.3%) health indicators showed association to MFI programme participation, while only 3 out of 15 (20%) dimensions measured in self-assessed health status showed significant association to MFI programme participation.
Conclusion: These findings indicate that MFI programme participation is not associated with improved health outcomes of clients and their family members in Moshi. Strategies are needed to enhance the health-promoting capacity of MFI programmes in Moshi as shown elsewhere.