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El coste del manejo ambulatorio de la neumonía en niños menores de cinco años de edad en Fiyi
Author(s) -
Temple Beth,
Griffiths Ulla Kou,
Mulholland Edward Kim,
Ratu Felisita Tupou,
Tikoduadua Lisi,
Russell Fiona Mary
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
tropical medicine and international health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.056
H-Index - 114
eISSN - 1365-3156
pISSN - 1360-2276
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-3156.2011.02897.x
Subject(s) - medicine , pneumonia , total cost , government (linguistics) , average cost , economic cost , unit cost , outpatient clinic , health economics , indirect costs , environmental health , public health , business , economics , nursing , linguistics , philosophy , neoclassical economics , accounting , microeconomics
Summary Objectives Pneumonia is the most common reason for visiting an outpatient facility among children <5 years old in Fiji. The objective of this study is to describe for the first time the costs associated with an episode of outpatient pneumonia in Fiji, in terms of cost both to the government health sector and to the household. Methods Costs were estimated for 400 clinically diagnosed pneumonia cases from two outpatient facilities, one in the capital, Suva, and one in a peri‐urban and rural area, Nausori. Household expenses relating to transport costs, treatment costs and indirect costs were determined primarily through structured interview with the caregiver. Unit costs were collected from a variety of sources. Patient‐specific costs were summarised as average costs per facility. Results The overall average societal cost associated with an episode of outpatient pneumonia was $18.98, ranging from $14.33 in Nausori to $23.67 in Suva. Household expenses represent a significant proportion of the societal cost (29% in Nausori and 45% in Suva), with transport costs the most important household cost item. Health sector expenses were dominated by personnel costs at both sites. Both the average total household expenses and the average total health sector expenses were significantly greater in Suva than Nausori. Conclusions A single episode of outpatient pneumonia represents a significant cost both to the government health sector and to affected households. Given the high incidence of this disease in Fiji, this places a considerable burden on society.