The coverage of indicators of sensitive and specific intervention programs and prevalence of stunting under-five children: A cross-sectional study in Aceh Province, Indonesia.

Background: The prevalence of stunting children under-five in Aceh Province is still high due to multiple factors, including the sub-optimal coverage of intervention programs. Aim: This study aimed at finding out the correlation between the coverage of indicators of sensitive and specific intervention programs with prevalence of stunting in Aceh. Methods: A cross-sectional design analyzed secondary data from the Indonesia nutritional status survey and program coverage data in 13 regencies/cities in Aceh Province. The dependent variable was the prevalence of stunting. Meanwhile, the independent variable covered 20 sensitive and specific intervention program indicators. We apply STATA 16 to analyze the correlation between sensitive and specific coverage and stunting prevalence. Results: The coverage of indicators of pregnant women with chronic energy deficiency (CED) receiving supplementary feeding, young children with diarrhea receiving zinc supplementation, parents taking parenting classes, and participation in the health insurance program had a significant correlation with prevalence stunting in Aceh (r = -0.57; r = -0.50; r = -0.65; and r = -0.60). Conclusion: Intervention measures to avert childhood stunting in Aceh should include strengthening supplementary feeding programs for mothers and toddlers, supplementation to prevent toddler diarrhea, and counseling parents on parenting and health insurance.

Inequality in access to health care, health insurance and the role of supply factors.

While disparities in access to health services by different economic groups have been well documented, much less is known about the factors that are contributing to these disparities. In this paper, we take the case of Indonesia, which has the six-worst wealth inequality in the world. The data is derived from the national socio-economic survey from 2011 to 2016, giving a total sample of over 5.5 million individuals. We find that only access to outpatient care at public primary health facilities is pro-poor, whilst access to other types of health care is pro-rich. Decomposition analysis demonstrates that the pro-rich access is driven by households' economic conditions, geographical variations, and supply-side factors that tend to disfavour the poor. Exploiting a nation-wide health insurance expansion during the study period, we go beyond most studies to examine how inequality in access and the contributions of these determinants may have changed under the new regime. We find that access gaps have narrowed, driven by a weaker association between access and households' economic status. Urban areas see a bigger reduction. Access to health services is generally greater, supported by increased participation of private providers under the new regime. However, we have yet to see a bigger reduction in the access gap due to more equal distribution of health infrastructure. Policies that may foster economic growth and increase households' economy, as well as health taskforce reallocation to reach greater number of poor and/or rural patients may reduce the inequality in access to health services further.