A Gender-Responsive Analytical Framework for Enhancing Awareness and Utilization of Government Health Insurance Schemes in India

Abstract

Gender inequalities in awareness, perception, and utilization of government-sponsored health insurance schemes remain despite efforts by the government towards achieving universal health coverage in India. This study examines gender-based differences in awareness and perceptions of public health insurance schemes in Ernakulam district, using primary survey data from 176 respondents. A stratified judgment sampling technique was used, and statistical analyses such as percentage analysis, the independent samples t-tests, the analysis of variance (ANOVA), and cross-validation were conducted. The results show statistically significant gender differences in awareness and utilization patterns (p < 0.05). The proposed Gender-Responsive Health Insurance Engagement Framework (GRHIEF) proved to be better performing than traditional and digital models. The accuracy of the framework is 89.72%, precision is 88.56%, recall is 87.93%, and F1-score is 88.24%, which are better than the accuracy of the manual system (72.45%) and basic digital system (80.63%). Independent sample t-tests confirmed that the proposed and existing models had significant differences in performance (t = 4.82, p < 0.001). The results show that gender-sensitive communication strategies, layering system architecture, and autonomous monitoring can substantially improve the awareness classification, prediction of perceptions, and efficiency of operations. The study adds empirical evidence to support technology-enabled, gender-responsive policy interventions that can strengthen inclusive health financing and equitable access to healthcare.