R H Berhanu1, K Schnippel2, R Kularatne3, C Firnhaber4, K R Jacobson5, C R Horsburgh6, C K Lippincott7. 1. Division of Infectious Diseases, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA, Department of Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, Health Economics and Epidemiology Research Office, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, Right to Care, Johannesburg. 2. Right to Care, Johannesburg, Clinical HIV Research Unit, Department of Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences. 3. National Institute for Communicable Diseases/National Health Laboratory Service and Department of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa. 4. Clinical HIV Research Unit, Department of Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, Department of Medicine, Infectious Disease Division, University of Colorado, Denver, Colorado. 5. Section of Infectious Diseases, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts. 6. Department of Epidemiology, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts. 7. Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
Abstract
SETTING: Ethiopia has a high prevalence of tuberculosis (TB) and is one of the countries with the highest burden of multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB). OBJECTIVE: To understand the costs that patients incur in obtaining diagnosis and treatment for MDR-TB. DESIGN: In March 2013, interviews were conducted with 169 MDR-TB patients at three hospitals in Ethiopia to identify the cost to patients and the impact on employment and family income. RESULTS: The average MDR-TB patient incurred a total cost of US$1378, which represented 25 months of a mid-treatment household income of US$54. The impact on the patient's employment and on overall patient and family income was generally catastrophic: 74% of all respondents reported losing their jobs, 66% of patients lost household income, and household income was reduced by 38%. To help cover the costs, 38% of patients sold some type of property, while 7% leased out property and 41% took out loans, any of which could jeopardize their future financial situation even further. CONCLUSION: Despite services being officially free of charge, most patients incurred catastrophic costs and suffered significant income loss as a result of obtaining diagnosis and treatment for MDR-TB.
SETTING: Ethiopia has a high prevalence of tuberculosis (TB) and is one of the countries with the highest burden of multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB). OBJECTIVE: To understand the costs that patients incur in obtaining diagnosis and treatment for MDR-TB. DESIGN: In March 2013, interviews were conducted with 169 MDR-TB patients at three hospitals in Ethiopia to identify the cost to patients and the impact on employment and family income. RESULTS: The average MDR-TB patient incurred a total cost of US$1378, which represented 25 months of a mid-treatment household income of US$54. The impact on the patient's employment and on overall patient and family income was generally catastrophic: 74% of all respondents reported losing their jobs, 66% of patients lost household income, and household income was reduced by 38%. To help cover the costs, 38% of patients sold some type of property, while 7% leased out property and 41% took out loans, any of which could jeopardize their future financial situation even further. CONCLUSION: Despite services being officially free of charge, most patients incurred catastrophic costs and suffered significant income loss as a result of obtaining diagnosis and treatment for MDR-TB.
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