Estimation of economic burden throughout course of cervical squamous intraepithelial lesion and cervical cancer in China:A nationwide multicenter cross-sectional study

Objective: Cervical squamous intraepithelial lesion(SIL) and cervical cancer are major threats to females' health and life in China, and we aimed to estimate the economic burden associated with their diagnosis and treatment.Methods: A nationwide multicenter, cross-sectional, hospital-based survey was conducted in 26 qualified hospitals across seven administrative regions of China. We investigated females who had been pathologically diagnosed with SIL and cervical cancer, and included five disease courses(“diagnosis”, “initial treatment”,“chemoradiotherapy”, “follow-up” and “recurrence/progression/metastasis”) to estimate the total costs. The median and interquartile range(IQR) of total costs(including direct medical, direct non-medical, and indirect costs), reimbursement rate by medical insurance, and catastrophic health expenditures in every clinical stage were calculated.Results: A total of 3,471 patients in different clinical stages were analyzed, including low-grade SIL(LSIL)(n=549), high-grade SIL(HSIL)(n=803), cervical cancer stage ⅠA(n=226), ⅠB(n=610), ⅡA(n=487), ⅡB(n=282), Ⅲ(n=452) and Ⅳ(n=62). In urban areas, the estimated total costs of LSIL and HSIL were $1,637.7(IQR:$956.4-$2,669.2) and $2,467.1(IQR:$1,579.1-$3,762.3), while in rural areas the costs were $459.0(IQR:$167.7-$1,330.3) and $1,230.5(IQR:$560.6-$2,104.5), respectively. For patients with cervical cancer stage ⅠA,ⅠB, ⅡA, ⅡB, and Ⅲ-Ⅳ, the total costs were $15,034.9(IQR:$11,083.4-$21,632.4), $19,438.6(IQR:$14,060.0-$26,505.9), $22,968.8(IQR:$16,068.8-$34,615.9), $26,936.0(IQR:$18,176.6-$41,386.0) and $27,332.6(IQR:$17,538.7-$44,897.0), respectively. Medical insurance covered 43%-55% of direct medical costs for cervical cancer patients, while the coverage for SIL patients was 19%-43%. For most cervical cancer patients, the expense was catastrophic, and the extent of catastrophic health expenditure was about twice large for rural patients than that for urban patients in each stage.Conclusions: The economic burden of SIL and cervical cancer in China is substantial, with a significant proportion of the costs being avoidable for patients with LSIL. Even for those with medical insurance, catastrophic health expenditures are also a major concern for patients with cervical cancer, particularly for those living in rural areas.

Economic burden and influencing factor analysis of outpatients with epilepsy: A cross-sectional study in Shanghai,Shanxi and Sichuan

Objective: To better understand the economic burden of patients with epilepsy receiving outpatient services in China and to analyze potential factors influencing epileptic economic burden through a cross-sectional study. Methods: Using a self-designed questionnaire, we collected information retrospectively from 754 patients with epilepsy evaluated in neurology clinics in Shanghai Municipality, Shanxi Province and Sichuan Province. Descriptive analyses were used after cost variables were presented as logarithms, and multiple linear regressions were performed to explore influencing factors. Results: Fifty percent of the investigated patients experienced an epilepsy attack before the age of 15, and 51.3% had suffered from epilepsy for more than five years. In the past year, 87.9% of patients had visited different hospitals multiple times for evaluation(40.3%) and maintenance treatment(40.7%). The total economic burden of epilepsy was US$ 1143.2. The average direct economic burden and indirect economic burden were US$ 939.0 and US$ 110.2, respectively. Multiple linear regressions showed that patients had to bear greater economic burden if they were hospitalized,using multiple antiepileptic drugs, experiencing illness for less than 5 years, in severe seizure index or active epilepsy with drug resistance, which was statistically significant. Totally only14.3% of patients could get reimbursement in outpatient services. Conclusions: Patients with epilepsy must present to hospitals regularly for satisfactory prognosis, which results in economic burden. Patients bear greater economic burden, especially direct medical costs, if they are newly diagnosed, experience severe seizures, or undergo multiple drug treatments that require more frequent monitoring. However, current insurance policy for outpatient services do not help reduce economic burden of patients efficiently.

Medical Resource Utilizations and Economic Burden in Chinese Cancer Patients with Chemotherapy-induced Anemia:A Populational Database Study

Objective： Most of published studies emphasized the medical cost of treating chemotherapy-induced anemia （CIA） by using specific agents, for example, epoetin α, epoetin β, darbepoetin α or combined with red blood cell transfusions, however, the investigation of the overall medical resources utilizations and economic burden of CIA is still limited. Besides, such studies which emphasized Chinese population still lack. The aim of this study is to investigate the medical resource utilization and the economic burden of Chinese cancer patients with CIA by using a populational representative claim database. Methods： The data for this study are from the 2000-2003 Population Health Insurance Research Database （PHIRD） in Taiwan. On the basis of issuing catastrophic illness cards in the enrollment data files, a total of 26,053 beneficiaries were identified from the PHIRD, who were newly diagnosed with these four cancers in 2001 and 2002 （2001： n=12,954; 2002： n=13099）. A generalized linear model （GLM） was employed for analyzing the differences of medical resource utilization and economic burden between the anemic and non-anemic groups. Results： Analyses showed that the anemic patients were significantly more likely to have longer length of hospital stay than non-anemic patients （P〈0.05） across all these four cancers and in two study periods （except women breast cancer in 2002/03）. As regards the health care expenditures, the average one-year total medical cost was USD$8,982 （2001/02） and USD$8,990 （2002/03） for anemic patients among these four cancers, and USD$7,769 （2001/02） and USD$7713 （2002/03） for non-anemic patients （P〈0.0001）. As for ambulatory costs, anemic patients＇ was significantly higher than non-anemic patients＇ for lung cancer （in 2001/02）, women breast cancer （in 2001/02 and 2002103） and the summarized data （in 2001/02）. As for inpatient costs, anemic patients＇ was significantly higher than non-anemic patients＇ for gastric cancer （in 2002/03）, colon and rectal cancer （in 2001/02 and 2002/03）, lung cancer （in 2001/02 and 2002/03）, women breast cancer （in 2001/02） and the summarized data （in 2001/02 and 2002/03）. Conclusion： This study is the first study to demonstrate that cancer patients who receive chemotherapy and with anemia utilize more medical resources and have heavier economic burden among Chinese cancer patients. Although the Population Health Insurance Program in Taiwan was established to provide more low-burdened medical care for all cancer patients, further effort is still needed to reduce the economic burden for cancer patients who have specific complications.

Healthcare utilization patterns and economic burden of animal bites:A cross-sectional study

Objective:To determine the healthcare utilization patterns and estimate the economic burden of animal bites in Golestan province,north part of Iran.Methods:This cross-sectional study was performed based on the data of 12181 animal-bite patients from Golestan province who were referred to the rabies prophylaxis centers between March 2019 and March 2020.The study was a societal perspective,and all patients were investigated by census method.The micro-costing method with a bottom-up approach as well as the human capital approach were used to estimate the economic burden.Results:In our study,the economic burden caused by animal bites was estimated at$1383639(275354672060 Rials).The largest share of costs was related to direct healthcare costs,direct non-healthcare costs,and indirect costs accouting for 91%,5%,and 4%,respectively.In addition,the average cost of a animal-bite patient was estimated at$113.5(22605260 Rials)(The average cost of a case in type 2 and 3 exposures was$45 and$412.8,respectively).The largest share of direct healthcare costs was related to immunoglobulin,vaccine,and personnel expenses accounting for 61.3%,19.8%,and 11.65%,respectively.Conclusions:Our study shows that animal bites in Golestan province,north of Iran impose a high economic burden on the communities,especially the healthcare system,which indicates the need to review management and control programs of animal bites and rabies based on animal-bite patterns of the area.

Economic burden of premature deaths attributable to different heatwaves in China: A multi-site study, 2014-2019

It has been well documented that heatwaves are linked to elevated mortality and morbidity.However,the selection of optimal heatwave definitions for subsequent risk assessment has been inconsistent and there is no full picture of the effects of heatwaves with different intensities on economic losses due to mortality,which can provide important insights for public health considerations.Hence,we used a two-stage time series analysis,combined with values of statistical life(VsL)based on the value of a statistical life year to assess the economic burden of deaths associated with heatwaves of different intensities and durations and to identify the vulnerable populations and regions.We further conducted stratified analyses by age,sex,and region.We found 2.9%(95%CI:0.0%,6.5%)-20.0%(95%CI:2.9%,34.2%)of VsL were attributable to heatwaves,corresponding to attributable economic losses(AELs)of 2.20(95%CI:0.32,3.77)-4.77(95%CI:1.53,7.63)billion CNY.The economic burden of death was most sensitive to heatwave H99P_2D(99th percentile,at last 2 consecutive days),while H97.5P_2D(97.5th percentile,at last 2 consecutive days)caused the highest attributable economic losses.Females and elderly people aged≥65 years were more sensitive.The AELs in the temperate zone and northern regions were larger than those in subtropical zone and southern regions during relatively low-intensity heatwaves,respectively.By contrast,the AELs in subtropical zone and southern regions were relatively higher than those in temperate zone and northern regions during relatively high-intensity heatwaves,respectively.The AELs were larger in urban areas than in rural areas.Tailored intervention strategies,primarily focusing on vulnerable populations and regions,should be formulated to reduce the economic loss due to heatwaves in the context of climate change.

Medical service utilisation, economic burden and health status of patients with rare diseases in China

Many patients with rare diseases not only suffer from more severe conditions but often receive less disease management, which is one significant public health concern globally. Few practice-based surveys focus on the care of patients with rare diseases. In the present study, we aimed to investigate medical service utilization, economic burden and health status of patients with rare diseases in China. A cross-sectional questionnaire survey focusing on patients with rare diseases was conducted. Descriptive analysis was conducted to examine the sociodemographic characteristics, medical service utilization, economic burden and health status. Logistic regression analysis was applied to explore influencing factors of self-rated health. A total of 982 patients with 81 types of diseases were included in this survey. We found that 58.2% of patients experienced misdiagnosis, and 35.2% of the patients were misdiagnosed for at least five times. Moreover, 65.8% of patients traveled to hospitals to seek medical services, and 92.1% of patients paid expenses for their treatment. However, only 1.3% of patients could afford their medical expenditure without debts, and 86.8% of patients regarded their health status as bad or moderate. Significant factors correlated with health status were economic status, gender, age, employment and household size. From this study, the accessibility of medical service utilization, the affordability of medical economic burden, and the condition of health status for patients with rare disease in China were considerably poor. Basic medical insurance did not play its role in improving the utilization of medical services and the affordability of medical costs. Social support should be encouraged to improve patients＇ health status.

Economic burden of inpatients with viral hepatitis B-related diseases and the influencing factors

Objective:The purpose of this study was to analyze the economic burden of inpatients with hepatitis B virus(HBV)-related diseases and the influencing factors so as to provide an effective basis for the development of health prevention and control strategies.Methods:The patients were selected by means of successive sampling in the period between August and December 2012 from those who were diagnosed with HBV-related diseases and hospitalized in countylevel medical institutions of Jiangsu Province.One hundred ninety-six patients were studied,including 3 patients with acute HBV,141 with chronic HBV,18 with compensatory cirrhosis,22 with decompensated cirrhosis,and 12 with liver cancer.This study adopted a questionnaire method to investigate and calculate the direct and indirect economic burden of the subjects according to disease economic burden theories and methods.Multiple linear stepwise regression was used for analysis of the influencing factors for economic burden of inpatients with HBV-related diseases.Results:The average economic burden for the 196 inpatients investigated was RMB 28,971.The direct economic burden was RMB 19,916(68.7%),including direct medical costs(RMB 19,087;95.8%)and direct non-medical costs(RMB 829;4.2%).The indirect economic burden was RMB 9055(31.3%),including patient-related expenses(RMB 6348;70.1%)and nursing expenses(RMB 2707;29.9%).According to the multiple linear stepwise regression analysis results,the hospital stay,proportion of medicine,age,and disease type affected the economic burden of the patients(P<0.05).Conclusion:Patients with HBV-related diseases undertake a heavy economic burden for hospitalization,especially the direct economic burden.Therefore,the inpatients’economic burden can be reduced by shortening the hospital stay,reducing the medical expenses reasonably,and delaying the progression of disease as far as possible according to medical standards.

Clinical characteristics and risk factors of intracranial hemorrhage after spinal surgery

BACKGROUND Intracranial hemorrhage after spinal surgery is a rare and devastating complication.AIM To investigate the economic burden,clinical characteristics,risk factors,and mechanisms of intracranial hemorrhage after spinal surgery.METHODS A retrospective cohort study was conducted from January 1,2015,to December 31,2022.Patients aged≥18 years,who had undergone spinal surgery were included.Intracranial hemorrhage patients were selected after spinal surgery during hospitalization.Based on the type of spinal surgery,patients with intracranial hemorrhage were randomly matched in a 1:5 ratio with control patients without intracranial hemorrhage.The patients'pre-,intra-,and post-operative data and clinical manifestations were recorded.RESULTS A total of 24472 patients underwent spinal surgery.Six patients(3 males and 3 females,average age 71.3 years)developed intracranial hemorrhage after posterior spinal fusion procedures,with an incidence of 0.025%(6/24472).The prevailing type of intracranial hemorrhage was cerebellar hemorrhage.Two patients had a poor clinical outcome.Based on the type of surgery,30 control patients were randomly matched in 1:5 ratio.The intracranial hemorrhage group showed significant differences compared with the control group with regard to age(71.33±7.45 years vs 58.39±8.07 years,P=0.001),previous history of cerebrovascular disease(50%vs 6.7%,P=0.024),spinal dura mater injury(50%vs 3.3%,P=0.010),hospital expenses(RMB 242119.1±87610.0 vs RMB 96290.7±32029.9,P=0.009),and discharge activity daily living score(40.00±25.88 vs 75.40±18.29,P=0.019).CONCLUSION The incidence of intracranial hemorrhage after spinal surgery was extremely low,with poor clinical outcomes.Patient age,previous stroke history,and dura mater damage were possible risk factors.It is suggested that spinal dura mater injury should be avoided during surgery in high-risk patients.

晚期非鳞状非小细胞肺癌患者直接非医疗经济负担及影响因素分析

目的系统分析无表皮生长因子/间变性淋巴瘤激酶(epidermal grouth factor receptor/anaplastic lymphoma kinase,EGFR/ALK)突变的晚期非鳞状非小细胞肺癌(non-small cell lung cancer,NSCLC)患者在疾病治疗过程中发生的直接非医疗费用,分析疾病所致直接非医疗经济负担及其影响因素,以期为制定降低非鳞癌患者疾病相关经济负担的有效措施提供决策建议与参考依据。方法采用方便抽样与整群抽样结合的方法,于2020年11月—2021年6月对上海市、江苏省、福建省、山东省和四川省12家医院的晚期非鳞状NSCLC患者进行一对一问卷调查,收集社会人口学信息和疾病信息,计算患病以来的直接非医疗费用,并利用广义线性回归模型分析其影响因素。结果本研究共纳入目标患者361名,患者自确诊以来的例均直接非医疗费用为13277.33元,其中,营养费用占比最高(30.3%),营养费用、就诊过程相关食宿费用的累积占比为84.6%。将直接非医疗费用及其5类组成部分分别作为因变量,与各变量纳入广义线性回归模型,结果显示:住院次数、平均住院天数对患者的总直接非医疗费用、住宿费用及伙食费用的影响具有统计学意义(P<0.05);病程对患者的总直接非医疗费用及营养费用的影响具有统计学意义(P<0.05);职业类型显著影响患者的总直接医疗费用、伙食及营养费用;独居情况显著影响患者的护工费用;住院次数和户籍显著影响患者的交通费用。结论晚期非鳞状NSCLC患者的直接非医疗负担不可忽视,建议:继续提升国家整体的肿瘤诊疗水平,持续强化县级龙头医院肿瘤综合防治能力,缩小城乡及省际诊疗水平差距;积极推进NSCLC的早诊早治与早期干预,提高患者生存率;通过健全多层次保障体系,提供多方经济补助;推动营养干预早期介入、提倡多样化护理形式等,借助多途径缓解晚期非鳞状NSCLC患者的直接非医疗负担。

Expenditure of hospital care on cancer in China, from 2011 to 2015

Objective: A solid understanding of levels and trends of spending on cancer is important to evaluate whether our healthcare resources were wisely spent and to prioritize future resources for cancer treatment and prevention. However, studies on economic burden of cancers in China are scant and the results are inconsistent. Methods: The Chinese hospital information database and nearly 350 million inpatient medical record data were used. As the ratios of cancer inpatient payments to total inpatient payments were mainly influenced by the grades and sites of hospitals, the estimates of payments of cancer inpatients in this study were stratified by hospital grades and provinces. Only the payments of cancer inpatients happened in grade 2, grade 3 and specialized cancer hospitals were included in the analyses. The total medical payments of cancers in China were estimated based on the ratios of outpatient payments to inpatient payments in specialized cancer hospitals. Results: From 2011 to 2015, the payments of cancer inpatients in China have increased by 84.1% and the total inpatient payments reached 177.1 billion RMB in 2015, accounting for 4.3% of the total health expenditure in China. Based on the ratio of outpatient payments to inpatient payments, the total payments on cancer treatments in China were estimated to be 221.4 billion RMB in 2015. Among different cancer types, the highest payments were the treatment of trachea, bronchus and lung cancer. The major cancer inpatient payments (67.1% in 2015) spent in grade 3 general hospitals and this ratio increased continually from 2011 to 2015. The expenditure of cancer treatments also varies by region with the major expenditure in the eastern region of China. Conclusions: This study estimated the total payments of cancer treatments in China and analyzed how the money was spent on cancer treatments in the recent 5 years, which would provide information for decision makings on the allocation of resources to service provisioning, prevention strategies, research funding, and assessing whether the economic burden of cancer is affordable to the governments.

No expenditure difference among patients with liver cancer at stageⅠ-ⅣV:Findings from a multicenter cross-sectional study in China

Objective:The number of liver cancer patients in China accounts for more than half of the world.However,China currently lacks national,multicenter economic burden data,and meanwhile,measuring the differences among different subgroups will be informative to formulate corresponding policies in liver cancer control.Thus,the aim of the study was to measure the economic burden of liver cancer by various subgroups.Methods:A hospital-based,multicenter and cross-sectional survey was conducted during 2012・2014,covering 39 hospitals and 21 project sites in 13 provinces across China.The questionnaire covers clinical information,sociology,expenditure,and related variables.All expenditure data were reported in Chinese Yuan(CNY)using 2014 values.Results:A total of 2,223 liver cancer patients were enrolled,of whom 59.61%were late-stage cases(III-IV),and 53.8%were hepatocellular carcinoma.The average total expenditure per liver cancer patient was estimated as 53,220 CNY,including 48,612 CNY of medical expenditures(91.3%)and 4,608 CNY of non-medical expenditures(8.7%).The average total expenditures in stage I,H,m and stage IV were 52,817 CNY,50,877 CNY,50,678 CNY and 54,089 CNY(P>0.05),respectively.Non-medical expenditures including additional meals,additional nutrition care,transportation,accommodation and hired informal nursing were 1,453 CNY,839 CNY,946 CNY,679 CNY and 200 CNY,respectively.The one-year out-of-pocket expenditure of a newly diagnosed patient was 24,953 CNY,and 77.2%of the patients suffered an unmanageable financial burden.Multivariate analysis showed that overall expenditure differed in almost all subgroups(P<0.05),except for sex,clinical stage,and pathologic type.Conclusions:There was no difference in treatment expenditure for liver cancer patients at different clinical stages,which suggests that maintaining efforts on treatment efficacy improvement is important but not enough.To fiirtherly reduce the overall economic burden from liver cancer,more effort should be given to primary and secondary prevention strategies.

Contemporary trends on expenditure of hospital care on total cancer and its subtypes in China during 2008-2017

Objective:To describe the contemporary trends in total,inpatient,and outpatient expenditure on major subtypes of cancer in different classifications of hospitals in China's Mainland.Methods:Home page of Inpatient Medical Records(HIMRs)and Hospital Annual Reports(HARs)were used to estimate hospital care expenditure on cancer.Inpatient payments and their share of cancer were calculated with the top-down method.Kriging spatial interpolation methods were used at the county level and summed at the province level.Outpatient expenditure was estimated with inpatient expenditure and the ratios of outpatient to inpatient payments in specialized cancer hospitals,stratified by province.Total expenditure on cancer was the sum of both payments.Log-linear regression was applied to estimate annual percentage change(APC)of expenditure.Results:Total expenses for cancer of Chinese residents reached up to 304.84 billion Chinese Yuan(CNY)in2017,accounting for 5.8%of the total health expenses(THE).After adjusting for consumer price index(CPI),medical expenses for cancer have increased from 63.30 billion CNY in 2008 to 249.56 billion CNY in 2017[APC:15.2%,95%confidence interval(95%CI):13.4%-17.0%].The APC was slightly higher than THE around 2013,while was lower after 2013.During 2008-2017,the ratio of inpatient to outpatient costs for cancer decreased from4.3:1 to 3.8:1.The inpatient payments for cancer mainly happened in grade 3 general hospitals,East China,and among lung,colorectal,and stomach cancer;while the fastest increase was found in West China,and among thyroid,prostate,and colorectal cancer.Conclusions:During 2008-2017,the rapid growth trend of medical expenses for cancer has been effectively controlled with the continuous deepening of medical reform and improvements of residents’health care.More attention should be paid to potential increases of medical costs caused by technological progress and demand release.Socialized and multi-channel insurance financing modes should be explored in the future.

Analysis on Medical Expenses of Hypertensive Inpatients in Urban Areas from 2010 to 2013-Evidence from Two Provinces in South of China

Along with the development of society and the rapid economic growth in the past decades, hypertension and other chronic diseases have become important reasons for people＇s poverty caused by illness in China. This study collected a total of 5857 people from 2010 to 2013 randomly from the database of the Medical Insurance Department （MID）, including 3229 people in Hubei province and 2628 people in Guangdong province. One-way ANOVA was used to compare the total medical expense, out-of-pocket （OOP） expense and hospital stay between variables. A multiple linear regression analysis was done to identify possible risk factors of total medical expense. The results showed that the average total medical expense per capita was 5709.89 yuan, and the medical expense per capita was 7053.58 and 4555.97 yuan in Guangdong province and Hubei province, respectively. The medical expense of hypertensive inpatients decreased from 7222.32 yuan in 2012 to 4894.66 yuan in 2013. There were no significant differences in medical expenses between different genders of hypertensive patients （P〉0.05）. People of different ages, provinces, medical insurances and medical institution levels showed significant differences in medical expenses. The government should increase the investment in chronic disease management and treatment in the central and western regions to narrow the gap with the eastern region. Medical insurance fund payment should be improved to ensure the fairness of the use of medical services in different medical insurances. And measures should be taken to encourage chronic patients to visit primary medical institutions to effectively reduce medical expenses.

Refractive surgery: the most cost-saving technique in refractive errors correction

AIM： To compare the lifetime and annual economic burden of spectacles, contact lenses, and refractive surgery in correction of refractive errors.METHODS： This is a cross-sectional study with convenience sampling which 120 patients were interviewed in a tertiary referral hospital in the Iranian health care system. The bottom-up based cost of illness approach was estimated using a face-to-face interview to assess the direct and indirect cost of different refractive errors correction of any correction technologies. RESULTS： Correction with spectacle imposes a total direct cost of US dollar （US$） 342.5 （±8.41） per year and US$9373.5 （±230.1） per lifetime to each patient. These figures for the contact lenses were obtained US$198.3 （±0.12） and US$5203.1 （±256.3） and for refractive surgery were obtained US$19.1 （±1.2） and US$568.1 （±64.6）, respectively. Overall, based on age-adjusted prevalence rates, astigmatism had the highest share of refractive errors economic burden with a lifetime direct cost of slightly less than US$5.49 billion, while hyperopia and myopia imposed less than US$5.24 and 4.2 billion on patients, respectively. The annually imposed cost on each individual Iranian patient with refractive errors is US$308.5. CONCLUSION： Based on 18mo post refractive surgery course observation, which is generalized to whole life, refractive surgery significantly imposed much less cost compared with spectacles and contact lenses. Refractive errors among Iranians result in considerable economic burden. Using the refractive surgery instead of other two correction methods has the ability to reduce this economic loss in the future.

Estimating the economic and social consequences for patients diagnosed with human African trypanosomiasis in Muchinga,Lusaka and Eastern Provinces of Zambia(2004-2014)

Background:Acute human African trypanosomiasis(rHAT)caused by Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense is associated with high mortality and is fatal if left untreated.Only a few studies have examined the psychological,social and economic impacts of rHAT.In this study,mixed qualitative and quantitative research methods were used to evaluate the socio-economic impacts of rHAT in Mambwe,Rufunsa,Mpika and Chama Districts of Zambia.Methods:Individuals diagnosed with rHAT from 2004 to 2014 were traced using hospital records and discussions with communities.Either they,or their families,were interviewed using a structured questionnaire and focus group discussions were conducted with affected communities.The burden of the disease was investigated using disability adjusted life years(DALYs),with and without discounting and age-weighting.The impact of long-term disabilities on the rHAT burden was also investigated.Results:Sixty four cases were identified in the study.The majority were identified in second stage,and the mortality rate was high(12.5%).The total number of DALYs was 285 without discounting or age-weighting.When long-term disabilities were included this estimate increased by 50%to 462.The proportion of years lived with disability(YLD)increased from 6.4%to 37%of the undiscounted and un-age-weighted DALY total.When a more active surveillance method was applied in 2013-2014 the cases identified increased dramatically,suggesting a high level of under-reporting.Similarly,the proportion of females increased substantially,indicating that passive surveillance may be especially failing this group.An average of 4.9 months of productive time was lost per patient as a consequence of infection.The health consequences included pain,amnesia and physical disability.The social consequences included stigma,dropping out of education,loss of friends and self-esteem.Results obtained from focus group discussions revealed misconceptions among community members which could be attributed to lack of knowledge about rHAT.Conclusions:The social and economic impact of rHAT on rural households and communities is substantial.Improved surveillance and strengthening of local medical services are needed for early and accurate diagnosis.Disease prevention should be prioritised in communities at risk of rHAT,and interventions put in place to prevent zoonotic disease spill over from domestic animals and wildlife.Supportive measures to mitigate the long-term effects of disability due to rHAT are needed.

Are free anti-tuberculosis drugs enough? An empirical study from three cities in China

Background:Tuberculosis(TB)patients in China still face a number of barriers in seeking diagnosis and treatment.There is evidence that the economic burden on TB patients and their households discourages treatment compliance.Methods:A cross-sectional study was conducted in three cities of China.Patients were selected using probability proportional to size(PPS)cluster sampling of rural townships or urban streets,followed by list sampling from a patient register.Data were collected using a questionnaire survey,key informant interviews and focus group discussions with TB patients to gain an understanding of the economic burden of TB and implications of this burden for treatment compliance.Results:A total of 797 TB patients were surveyed,of which 60 were interviewed in-depth following the survey.More than half had catastrophic health expenditure.TB patients with higher household incomes were less likely to report non-compliance(OR 0.355,95%CI 0.140–0.830)and patients who felt that the economic burden relating to TB treatment was high more likely to report non-compliance(OR 3.650,95%CI 1.278–12.346).Those who had high costs for transportation,lodging and food were also more likely to report non-compliance(OR 4.150,95%CI 1.804–21.999).The findings from the qualitative studies supported those from the survey.Conclusion:The economic burden associated with seeking diagnosis and treatment remains a barrier for TB patients in China.Reducing the cost of treatment and giving patients subsidies for transportation,lodging and food is likely to improve treatment compliance.Improving doctors’salary system to cut off the revenue-oriented incentive,and expanding current insurance’s coverage can be helpful to reduce patients’actual burden or anticipated burden.Future research on this issue is needed.