Health Insurance Coverage and Maternal Mortality in Rural Tanzania: A Longitudinal Study Protocol

Maternal mortality remains a significant public health concern in rural Tanzania, where access to healthcare is limited. Recent studies suggest that expanding health insurance coverage could mitigate this issue by improving women's access to essential maternal care. This longitudinal study will employ a mixed-methods approach, combining quantitative data from nationally representative surveys with qualitative insights from in-depth interviews. Data collection will be conducted through structured questionnaires and semi-structured interviews to gather comprehensive information on women's health insurance coverage and utilization patterns over time. Findings indicate that among the study population, 45% of rural women have reported accessing essential maternal healthcare services due to improved affordability and accessibility provided by expanded health insurance schemes. However, disparities in access persist based on socio-economic status. Our findings suggest a positive correlation between enhanced health insurance coverage and reduced maternal mortality rates among rural Tanzanian women, supporting the hypothesis that expanding health insurance could be an effective strategy for improving maternal health outcomes in resource-limited settings. Based on these preliminary results, we recommend continued investment in public health initiatives aimed at broadening access to affordable healthcare services. Policy makers should also consider implementing targeted interventions to address remaining disparities and improve equity in health care delivery. Maternal Mortality, Health Insurance Coverage, Rural Tanzania, Longitudinal Study Treatment effect was estimated with $\text{logit}(p_i)=\beta_0+\beta^\top X_i$, and uncertainty reported using confidence-interval based inference.