Improving Ayushman Bharat's Impact: Beneficiary Identification System Awareness and Use

Abstract

Background: The study focuses on awareness and utilization of the Ayushman Application, emphasizing its key feature: the Beneficiary Identification System. The background points out the potential that digital applications such as Ayushman hold in expanding accessibility to healthcare benefits under government schemes.
Objective: This study aims to determine factors that influence awareness, evaluate the success of promotional efforts, and measure the extent of awareness regarding this application.
Method: It utilizes a mixed-method approach and incorporates both quantitative & qualitative analyses. Data is sourced through primary sources of surveys and interviews and secondary sources of reports and publications. This study uses stratified random sampling, targeting 217 respondents who are either current or potential users of the Ayushman Application. The analytical tools used here include SPSS and Excel, with techniques like the Chi-square test to test hypotheses.
Result: The Pearson chi-square statistic stated significant association between income level and awareness level of Ayushman application (0.030, p-value < 0.05), education level and Ayushman application (0.013, p-value < 0.05), age and Ayushman application (0.027, p-value < 0.05). Study addresses the technical and social barriers, in terms of unreliable internet connections, resistance to digital tools, and infrastructure-related issues, such as lack of device access barriers, hindered the application's reach.
Conclusion: The remained gaps in the awareness and utilization of the Ayushman Application due to a lack of internet access, low internet literacy, and infrastructural issues, which were partly evident in the rural areas, as noted by the study. Such findings call for informative, expansive, and tailored outreach to counter such hindrances