Research Article
Mothers’ Exposure to the Media and Its Effect on Child Health in Cameroon
Issue:
Volume 11, Issue 1, March 2026
Pages:
1-16
Received:
5 December 2025
Accepted:
23 December 2025
Published:
19 January 2026
Abstract: The purpose of this study was to investigate the determinants of mothers’ exposure to the media and examine its effect on child health in Cameroon. Data was obtained through a survey from the Cameroonian Demographic and Health survey (CDHS) 2018. The study employed a Probit regression to examine the determinants of mothers’ exposure to the media and its effect on child health in Cameroon. The results from this analysis revealed that, an increase in the household membership negatively and significantly affects mothers’ exposure to the media for those having a Television (-0.0391) and those having mobile phones (-0.0426). Also, those living in the rural area with regards to place of residence shows a positive significant effect (0.7689) as concerns television ownership and a negative significant effect (-0.3404) for mobile phone ownership. Households having electricity depicts a significant negative and positive effect respectively with regards to television (-1.0727) and mobile phone (0.6185) ownership. Being more educated as per the different categories of education shows a positive statistically significant effect on mother’s exposure to the media as compared to not being educated for both television and mobile phone ownership. The results equally revealed that, the frequency of listening to the radio and watching a television more than once a week had a positive effect on child’s health as compared to not listening to the radio or watching Television at all (0.113 and 0.495 respectively), though statistically significant only for watching television. The frequent use of the internet (at least once a week) had a positive statistically significant effect on child’s health in Cameroon at 10%, with a coefficient of 0.337. From the results, we recommend that, the government should prioritize improving access to electricity in households across Cameroon, especially in underserved areas and also implement programs that promote maternal education and media literacy to increase awareness of health-related media messages.
Abstract: The purpose of this study was to investigate the determinants of mothers’ exposure to the media and examine its effect on child health in Cameroon. Data was obtained through a survey from the Cameroonian Demographic and Health survey (CDHS) 2018. The study employed a Probit regression to examine the determinants of mothers’ exposure to the media an...
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Research Article
The Implications of Health Insurance on Demand for Healthcare in Cameroon
Issue:
Volume 11, Issue 1, March 2026
Pages:
17-30
Received:
1 December 2025
Accepted:
19 January 2026
Published:
20 February 2026
DOI:
10.11648/j.hep.20261101.12
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Abstract: Health insurance is an important factor in enhancing demand for healthcare, especially in the context of developing countries like Cameroon, where a greater proportion of the population have financial barriers to health services. This study investigates the implications of the main health insurance models; community-based, government-based, and employer-based insurance coverage on healthcare demand in Cameroon. Based on the probit regression model and data drawn from the 2018 Cameroonian Demographic and Health Survey, with a total sample of variables derived from a sample of 10,303 observations, the study found that health insurance significantly increases the likelihood of individuals seeking healthcare, with community-based health insurance demonstrating a compelling impact, and elevating demand by approximately 67.7%. Conversely, government and employer-based insurances also positively influence healthcare demand, albeit with distinct variations across demographic segments. Hence, the study underscores and recommends the importance of employer-sponsored insurance in enhancing healthcare access and suggests expanding such programs will lead to improved health outcomes across the population. This can be done by incentivizing businesses to offer comprehensive coverage which includes tax breaks or subsidies. This will enhance health benefits thereby ensuring that employees and their families have better access to necessary healthcare services. Similarly, it is important to strengthen Government Health Insurance by Increasing funding and resources for Government Based Health Insurance (GBHI) programs that will expand service delivery by improving healthcare infrastructure, increase coverage options, and ensuring that government-sponsored plans effectively meet the needs of underserved populations.
Abstract: Health insurance is an important factor in enhancing demand for healthcare, especially in the context of developing countries like Cameroon, where a greater proportion of the population have financial barriers to health services. This study investigates the implications of the main health insurance models; community-based, government-based, and emp...
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,
Ofeh Evina Anchi
