TB treatment can be financially burdensome, with direct medical costs making up a significant portion of the total expenditure.
Patients with tuberculosis (TB) in India are experiencing extremely high costs related to lost productivity and hospital stays, as highlighted by a study conducted by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR). (1✔ ✔Trusted Source
Financial hardship of tuberculosis patients registered under National Tuberculosis Elimination Programme (NTEP) in rural India: A longitudinal study
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The study led by researchers from the ICMR-National Institute of Epidemiology (ICMR-NIE), in Chennai, showed that TB continues to pose a significant social and economic burden to households. “Persons with TB in India incur high costs mainly due to lost productivity and hospitalisation. Nearly half of them experience catastrophic costs, especially those from poorer economic quintiles,” said the team led by Kathiresan Jeyashree, a scientist at ICMR-NIE.
The High Price of TB: A Closer Look
“The study, published in the Global Health Research and Policy journal, estimated the costs incurred by 1,407 persons with TB during their care and also identified the factors associated with the costs. The cross-sectional study measured total patient costs through direct medical, non-medical, and indirect costs.
The mean age of the patients was 40.8 years, and 865 (61.5 percent) were male, and 786 (55.9 percent) were economically active. Thirty-four (2.4 percent) had drug-resistant TB (DRTB), and 258 (18.3 percent) had been hospitalised for TB.
TB patients less than 60 years of age, without health insurance, and those hospitalised for the condition experienced higher median costs.
About 45 percent of TB patients experienced catastrophic costs. Notably, hospitalised TB patients and those notified from the private sector were more likely to incur catastrophic costs. The study called for enabling early notification of TB, and “expanding the coverage of health insurance schemes to include persons with TB. “Implementing TB-sensitive strategies to address social determinants of TB may significantly reduce catastrophic costs incurred by persons with TB,” Jeyashree said.
Reference:
- Financial hardship of tuberculosis patients registered under National Tuberculosis Elimination Programme (NTEP) in rural India: A longitudinal study – (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0019570724000192?via%3Dihub)
Source-IANS
