scholarly journals The choices and consequences of seeking care for chronic conditions for disadvantaged populations in Malaysia and the Philippines

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (Supplement_5) ◽  
Author(s):  
B Palafox

Abstract Disadvantaged populations in LMICs suffering from chronic conditions are often forced to make care choices that increase the risk of receiving substandard care and facing catastrophic bills. These negative impacts widen health disparities across social, economic and urban-rural lines. This study aimed to understand the economic consequences of the choices made by those living with NCD in disadvantaged communities in Malaysia and the Philippines. Using hypertension as a tracer condition, we analysed longitudinal data from surveys of 1200 hypertensive adults from low-income communities in both countries to estimate the prevalence and drivers of catastrophic health expenditure and the coping strategies employed. Interviews and digital diary data from a sub-sample of 80 participants was analysed thematically to elicit how such choices lead to sub-optimal management of their condition. More Filipino households with at least one hypertensive adult experienced catastrophic health spending (40% threshold) than in Malaysia (14.3% vs. 0.4%). Although the average cost of clinic visits in the Philippines was much higher than what was observed in the public sector-dominated system in Malaysia, consultation fees were main drivers of costs in Malaysia, while medication costs predominated in the Philippines (accounting for 38.6% and 70.5% of typical household health expenditure respectively). In both countries, nearly all diagnosed participants were taking antihypertensive medications, however, levels of adherence varied. Participants cited the unavailability, cost and adverse effects of antihypertensives as reasons for poor adherence, delaying treatment and substituting prescriptions. Understanding the barriers faced by disadvantaged populations in LMICs and the ways that they overcome them as they seek care for a chronic disorder may challenge the assumptions of decision makers, and is crucial for designing responsive and equitable health systems that leave none behind.

2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 481-493
Author(s):  
Milan Das ◽  
Kaushalendra Kumar ◽  
Junaid Khan

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the dynamic nature of the catastrophic health expenditure (CHE) on remittances receiving households between 2005 and 2012 in India. Design/methodology/approach The study adopted Xu’s (2005) definition of catastrophic health-care expenditure. And also used binary logistic regression to examine the effects of remittances being received on CHE in households across India. The data were drawn from the two rounds of the India Human Development Survey conducted by the University of Maryland, the USA, and the National Council of Applied Economic Research, New Delhi, India. Findings The results show that the percentage of households received remittances, and that the amount of remittances received has substantially increased during 2005 and 2012, though variation is evident by socioeconomic and demographic characteristics of the household. Apparently, the variation (percentage of households received remittances) is more pronounced for factors such as household size, number of 60+ elderly, sectors and by regions. Household’s catastrophic health spending and remittances being received show a statistically significant association. Households which received remittances during both the time showed the lowest likelihood (AOR:0.82; p-value < 0.10; 95% CI:0.64–1.03) to experience catastrophic health spending. Originality/value The paper identified the research gap to examine the occurrence of catastrophic health spending by remittances receiving status of the household using a novel panel data set.


BMJ Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. e041870
Author(s):  
Tiara Marthias ◽  
Kanya Anindya ◽  
Nawi Ng ◽  
Barbara McPake ◽  
Rifat Atun ◽  
...  

ObjectivesTo examine non-communicable diseases (NCDs) multimorbidity level and its relation to households’ socioeconomic characteristics, health service use, catastrophic health expenditures and productivity loss.DesignThis study used panel data of the Indonesian Family Life Survey conducted in 2007 (Wave 4) and 2014 (Wave 5).SettingThe original sampling frame was based on 13 out of 27 provinces in 1993, representing 83% of the Indonesian population.ParticipantsWe included respondents aged 50 years and above in 2007, excluding those who did not participate in both Waves 4 and 5. The total number of participants in this study are 3678 respondents.Primary outcome measuresWe examined three main outcomes; health service use (outpatient and inpatient care), financial burden (catastrophic health expenditure) and productivity loss (labour participation, days primary activity missed, days confined in bed). We applied multilevel mixed-effects regression models to assess the associations between NCD multimorbidity and outcome variables,ResultsWomen were more likely to have NCD multimorbidity than men and the prevalence of NCD multimorbidity increased with higher socioeconomic status. NCD multimorbidity was associated with a higher number of outpatient visits (compared with those without NCD, incidence rate ratio (IRR) 4.25, 95% CI 3.33 to 5.42 for individuals with >3 NCDs) and inpatient visits (IRR 3.68, 95% CI 2.21 to 6.12 for individuals with >3 NCDs). NCD multimorbidity was also associated with a greater likelihood of experiencing catastrophic health expenditure (for >3 NCDs, adjusted OR (aOR) 1.69, 95% CI 1.02 to 2.81) and lower participation in the labour force (aOR 0.23, 95% CI 0.16 to 0.33) compared with no NCD.ConclusionsNCD multimorbidity is associated with substantial direct and indirect costs to individuals, households and the wider society. Our study highlights the importance of preparing health systems for addressing the burden of multimorbidity in low-income and middle-income countries.


Data ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 112
Author(s):  
Onur Dogan ◽  
Gizem Kaya ◽  
Aycan Kaya ◽  
Hidayet Beyhan

The amount of health expenditure at the household level is one of the most basic indicators of development in countries. In many countries, health expenditure increases relative to national income. If out-of-pocket health spending is higher than the income or too high, this indicates an economical alarm that causes a lower life standard, called catastrophic health expenditure. Catastrophic expenditure may be affected by many factors such as household type, property status, smoking and drinking alcohol habits, being active in sports, and having private health insurance. The study aims to investigate households with respect to catastrophic health expenditure by the clustering method. Clustering enables one to see the main similarity and difference between the groups. The results show that there are significant and interesting differences between the five groups. C4 households earn more but spend less money on health problems by the rate of 3.10% because people who do physical exercises regularly have fewer health problems. A household with a family with one adult, landlord and three people in total (mother or father and two children) in the cluster C5 earns much money and spends large amounts for health expenses than other clusters. C1 households with elementary families with three children, and who do not pay rent although they are not landlords have the highest catastrophic health expenditure. Households in C3 have a rate of 3.83% health expenditure rate on average, which is higher than other clusters. Households in the cluster C2 make the most catastrophic health expenditure.


Circulation ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 137 (suppl_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gene F Kwan ◽  
Benito Isaac ◽  
Lily Yan ◽  
Waking Jean-Baptiste ◽  
Densa Belony ◽  
...  

Background: Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) are a major and growing cause of death and disability in low-income countries, and contribute a substantial portion of outpatient clinic visits. Poverty can be a major barrier to accessing healthcare in rural low-income countries. The objective of this study is to describe the demographics and socioeconomic status of patients attending an NCD clinic in rural Haiti, where poverty is highly prevalent. Methods: We analyzed routinely collected clinic data from adult patients in rural Haiti presenting to the NCD clinic at Hôpital Universitaire de Mirebalais. We collected data during routine initial clinic visits from July 2013 through October 2016. We performed descriptive statistics to assess patient demographics and socioeconomic status using available data. We evaluated poverty based on the Multidimensional Poverty Index by evaluating 9 indicators within three dimensions: health, education, and standard of living - we did not assess electricity. We assessed deprivation within each indicator. The “poorest” patients were defined as those deprived in 4 of the 9 poverty indicators. We also assessed measures of catastrophic health spending. Results: A total of 518 adults were included, with 72% (373/508) women. The mean overall age was 52.8 years (SD 14.7) and 21% (108/518) were 40 years old or younger. Of the patients, 32% had only hypertension, 18% had only diabetes, 32% had both diabetes and hypertension, 5% had heart failure, and 13% had no recorded diagnosis. 45% of patients travel more than 1 hour for clinic visits. Almost half (49%, 146/296) of adults sold belongings and 61% (178/292) borrowed money to pay for healthcare. Among the poverty measures, the top indicators with deprivation were cooking fuel with charcoal or wood (96%, 290/302), child death in household (70%, 169/243), and no household members completing primary school (25%, 83/324), lack of household assets (25%, 79/313), poor sanitation (19%, 59/304), dirt floor (16%, 50/304), and lack of improved drinking water (9%, 29/308). Of all patients, 21% (78/378) were among the poorest. Throughout Haiti, however, 55% of the population are among the poorest. There were more patients among the poorest living closer to the hospital (27%) than living farther away (10%). Interpretation: The great majority of patients were middle-aged women, with predominantly hypertension and/or diabetes. Socioeconomic deprivation was high among many poverty indicators and most patients experienced catastrophic health spending. At this clinic in rural Haiti, the proportion of patients presenting for care who are among the poorest is less than that overall in Haiti. Patients who travel far distances have less poverty. Health systems for chronic disease management in rural low-income countries must account for patient poverty.


Healthcare ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 408 ◽  
Author(s):  
Minsung Sohn ◽  
Xianhua Che ◽  
Hee-Jung Park

This study examined the effects of healthcare inequality on personal health. It aimed to determine how health insurance type and income level influence catastrophic health expenditure and unmet healthcare needs among South Koreans. Unbalanced Korean Health Panel data from 2011 to 2015, including 33,374 adults, were used. A time-trend and panel regression analysis were performed. The first to identify changes in the main variables and, the second, mediating effects of unmet healthcare needs and catastrophic health expenditure on the relationship between health insurance type, income level, and health status. The independent variables were: high-, middle-, low-income employee insured, high-, middle-, low-income self-employed insured, and medical aid. The dependent variable was health status, and the mediators were unmet needs and catastrophic health expenditure. The medical aid beneficiaries and low-income self-employed insured groups demonstrated a higher probability of reporting poor health status than the high-income, insured group (15.6%, 2.2%, and 2.3%, respectively). Participants who experienced unmet healthcare needs or catastrophic health expenditure were 10.7% and 5.6% higher probability of reporting poor health, respectively (Sobel test: p < 0.001). National policy reforms could improve healthcare equality by integrating insurance premiums based on income among private-sector employees and self-employed individuals within the health insurance network.


Author(s):  
Xinpeng Xu ◽  
Hai Gu ◽  
Hua You ◽  
Lan Bai ◽  
Decheng Li ◽  
...  

This study investigated associations between different types of medical insurance and the incidence of catastrophic health expenditure among middle-aged and the aged in China. The data came from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Survey implemented in 2013, with 9782 individuals analyzed. Probit regression models and multiple linear regressions were employed to explore the relationship mentioned above and potential mechanisms behind it. It was found that compared with participants in Urban Resident Basic Medical Insurance, individuals participating in New Cooperative Medical Scheme and Coordinating Urban and Rural Basic Medical Insurance was less likely to undergo catastrophic health expenditure ( P < .001, P = .008), especially for low-income and middle-income group. Participants in New Cooperative Medical Scheme and Coordinating Urban and Rural Basic Medical Insurance were more likely to utilize inpatient medical service ( P < .001, P = .020) and choose low-level medical institutions for treatment ( P = .003, P = .006). And individuals participating in New Cooperative Medical Scheme had lower out-of-pocket expenditure ( P = .034). The study showed the significant difference in the incidence of catastrophic health expenditure among participants in different medical insurances. Efforts should be made to improve the service quality of grassroots medical institutions except for the increase of reimbursement ratio, so that rural residents can enjoy high-quality medical services.


2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Huan Liu ◽  
Hong Zhu ◽  
Jiahui Wang ◽  
Xinye Qi ◽  
Miaomiao Zhao ◽  
...  

Abstract Background By 2013, several regions in China had introduced health insurance integration policies. However, few studies addressed the impact of medical insurance integration in China. This study investigates the catastrophic health expenditure and equity in the incidence of catastrophic health expenditure by addressing its potential determinants in both integrated and non-integrated areas in China in 2013. Methods The primary data are drawn from the fifth China National Health Services Survey in 2013. The final sample comprises 19,788 households (38.4%) from integrated areas and 31,797 households (61.6%) from non-integrated areas. A probit model is employed to decompose inequality in the incidence of catastrophic health expenditure in line with the methodology used for decomposing the concentration index. Results The incidence of catastrophic health expenditure in integrated areas is higher than in non-integrated areas (13.87% vs. 13.68%, respectively). The concentration index in integrated areas and non-integrated areas is − 0.071 and − 0.073, respectively. Average household out-of-pocket health expenditure and average capacity to pay in integrated areas are higher than those in non-integrated areas. However, households in integrated areas have lower share of out-of-pocket expenditures in the capacity to pay than households in non-integrated areas. The majority of the observed inequalities in catastrophic health expenditure can be explained by differences in the health insurance and householders’ educational attainment both in integrated areas and non-integrated areas. Conclusions The medical insurance integration system in China is still at the exploratory stage; hence, its effects are of limited significance, even though the positive impact of this system on low-income residents is confirmed. Moreover, catastrophic health expenditure is associated with pro-poor inequality. Medical insurance, urban-rural disparities, the elderly population, and use of health services significantly affect the equity of catastrophic health expenditure incidence and are key issues in the implementation of future insurance integration policies.


2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (11) ◽  
pp. e007265
Author(s):  

IntroductionTracking the progress of universal health coverage (UHC) is typically at a country level. However, country-averages may mask significant small-scale variation in indicators of access and use, which would have important implications for policy choice to achieve UHC.MethodsWe conducted a retrospective cross-sectional household and individual-level survey in seven slum sites across Nigeria, Kenya, Bangladesh and Pakistan. We estimated the adjusted association between household capacity to pay and report healthcare need, use and spending. Catastrophic health expenditure was estimated by five different methods.ResultsWe surveyed 7002 households and 6856 adults. Gini coefficients were wide, ranging from 0.32 to 0.48 across the seven sites. The total spend of the top 10% of households was 4–47 times more per month than the bottom 10%. Households with the highest budgets were: more likely to report needing care (highest vs lowest third of distribution of budgets: +1 to +31 percentage points (pp) across sites), to spend more on healthcare (2.0 to 6.4 times higher), have more inpatient and outpatient visits per year in five sites (1.0 to 3.0 times more frequently), spend more on drugs per visit (1.1 to 2.2 times higher) and were more likely to consult with a doctor (1.0 to 2.4 times higher odds). Better-off households were generally more likely to experience catastrophic health expenditure when calculated according to four methods (−1 to +12 pp), but much less likely using a normative method (−60 to −80 pp).ConclusionsSlums have a very high degree of inequality of household budget that translates into inequities in the access to and use of healthcare. Evaluation of UHC and healthcare access interventions targeting these areas should consider distributional effects, although the standard measures may be unreliable.


2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. e002040 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adrianna Murphy ◽  
Benjamin Palafox ◽  
Marjan Walli-Attaei ◽  
Timothy Powell-Jackson ◽  
Sumathy Rangarajan ◽  
...  

BackgroundNon-communicable diseases (NCDs) are the leading cause of death globally. In 2014, the United Nations committed to reducing premature mortality from NCDs, including by reducing the burden of healthcare costs. Since 2014, the Prospective Urban and Rural Epidemiology (PURE) Study has been collecting health expenditure data from households with NCDs in 18 countries.MethodsUsing data from the PURE Study, we estimated risk of catastrophic health spending and impoverishment among households with at least one person with NCDs (cardiovascular disease, diabetes, kidney disease, cancer and respiratory diseases; n=17 435), with hypertension only (a leading risk factor for NCDs; n=11 831) or with neither (n=22 654) by country income group: high-income countries (Canada and Sweden), upper middle income countries (UMICs: Brazil, Chile, Malaysia, Poland, South Africa and Turkey), lower middle income countries (LMICs: the Philippines, Colombia, India, Iran and the Occupied Palestinian Territory) and low-income countries (LICs: Bangladesh, Pakistan, Zimbabwe and Tanzania) and China.ResultsThe prevalence of catastrophic spending and impoverishment is highest among households with NCDs in LMICs and China. After adjusting for covariates that might drive health expenditure, the absolute risk of catastrophic spending is higher in households with NCDs compared with no NCDs in LMICs (risk difference=1.71%; 95% CI 0.75 to 2.67), UMICs (0.82%; 95% CI 0.37 to 1.27) and China (7.52%; 95% CI 5.88 to 9.16). A similar pattern is observed in UMICs and China for impoverishment. A high proportion of those with NCDs in LICs, especially women (38.7% compared with 12.6% in men), reported not taking medication due to costs.ConclusionsOur findings show that financial protection from healthcare costs for people with NCDs is inadequate, particularly in LMICs and China. While the burden of NCD care may appear greatest in LMICs and China, the burden in LICs may be masked by care foregone due to costs. The high proportion of women reporting foregone care due to cost may in part explain gender inequality in treatment of NCDs.


2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sanjay K. Mohanty ◽  
Laxmi Kant Dwivedi

Abstract Background Estimates of catastrophic health expenditure (CHE) are counterintuitive to researchers, policy makers, and developmental partners due to data and methodological limitation. While inferences drawn from use of capacity-to-pay (CTP) and budget share (BS) approaches are inconsistent, the non-availability of data on food expenditure in the health survey in India is an added limitation. Methods Using data from the health and consumption surveys of National Sample Surveys over 14 years, we have overcome these limitations and estimated the incidence and intensity of CHE and impoverishment using the CTP approach. Results The incidence of CHE for health services in India was 12.5% in 2004, 13.4% in 2014 and 9.1% by 2018. Among those households incurring CHE, they spent 1.25 times of their capacity to pay in 2004 (intensity of CHE), 1.71 times in 2014 and 1.31 times by 2018. The impoverishment due to health spending was 4.8% in 2004, 5.1% in 2014 and 3.3% in 2018. The state variations in incidence and intensity of CHE and incidence of impoverishment is large. The concentration index (CI) of CHE was − 0.16 in 2004, − 0.18 in 2014 and − 0.22 in 2018 suggesting increasing inequality over time. The concentration curves based on CTP approach suggests that the CHE was concentrated among poor. The odds of incurring CHE were lowest among the richest households [OR 0.22; 95% CI: 0.21, 0.24], households with elderly members [OR 1.20; 95% CI:1.12, 1.18] and households using both inpatient and outpatient services [OR 2.80, 95% CI 2.66, 2.95]. Access to health insurance reduced the chance of CHE and impoverishment among the richest households. The pattern of impoverishment was similar to that of CHE. Conclusion In the last 14 years, the CHE and impoverishment in India has declined while inequality in CHE has increased.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document