Demand for Self-Employed Health Insurance.
OBJECTIVE
Health insurance provides financial support for health care expenditures. There are two types of health insurance: compulsory and voluntary. Voluntary health insurance can be divided into two categories: self-employed and supplementary. In this study, the main factors that affect the demand for self-employed health insurance in Iran were determined.


METHODS
In this cross-sectional study, data were derived from the 2013 Household Income and Expenditure Survey from the Statistical Center of Iran. Then, a logistic regression model was designed to determine the factors influencing health insurance demand.


RESULTS
The age, income, and education level of the head of the household directly correlated with the demand for self-employed health insurance. There was no significant relationship between the demand for health insurance and the gender or marital status of the head of the household. In addition, there were no significant relationships between occupation or house ownership and the demand for health insurance in rural households.


CONCLUSIONS
To promote voluntary health insurance, it is helpful to identify effective factors that stimulate the health insurance demand.
Department of Health Economics and Management, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Sara
S
Emamgholipour
Department of Health Economics and Management, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Mohammad
M
Arab
Young Researchers and Elite Club, Mashhad Branch, Islamic Azad University, Mashhad, Iran.
Javad
J
Ebrahimzadeh
Income; gender; household size; logistic model; voluntary health insurance