A Survey On Economic Burden Of Pulmonary Tuberculosis Patients In Four Countiesin Liaoning Province

Objective:To survey the family income and out-of-pocket expenses due to tuberculosis among TB patients attending TB designated institutions in four counties and districts in Liaoning,and to understand the economic burden of tuberculosis patients to their families and the impact on social life.Furthermore,to put forward the corresponding countermeasures.In order to reduce the burden of tuberculosis patients to provide data reference.Methods:The study was based on"household catastrophic health expenditure due to TB in China ".a cross-sectional study was used.This survey selected 4 counties in Liaoning province.The survey tool mainly includes institutional questionnaire and patient's personal questionnaire.face-to-face questionnaire interviews were conducted the social economic characteristics,the cost of the patient from the onset of symptoms to the current stage of treatment,and the impact of TB on the family and themselves;The Disease Diagnosis and treatment information was obtained by consulting the patients'medical records,and the disease diagnosis.The total out-of-pocket payments due to TB and their composition,the ratio of total costs to annual household income and the effects of the disease among different populations were described and compared.Results:A total of 191 patients with TB were investigated.Among them,171 new patients(89.5%),20 retreatable patients(10.5%).84 in intensive phase(44%),107 in continuing phase(56%),mean age 49.8,145 male patients(75.9%),and 128 married patients(67%).Most of them were farmers(34%),middle school students(47.1%),smear-negative(23%),having one or more chronic diseases(40.3%).118(61.7%)patients had been hospitalized due to illness,and 94.8%were covered by medical insurance.The total out-of-pocket expenses of 191 TB patients from the onset of symptoms to the end of treatment were 20997.7 yuan,the median was 13527.6 yuan.The average cost was 13186.9 yuan,the median was 7541.2 yuan,the indirect cost was 5437.7 yuan,the median was 1951.5 yuan.40.1%of the total out-of-pocket expenses occurred before the patients arrived at the designated TB medical institutions for diagnosis.The average out-of-pocket expenses before diagnosis was 8416.7 yuan,and the median was 13527.6 yuan.Among the patients surveyed,85.9%of the patients surveyed had household catastrophic health expenditure,and 191 patients suffered an average decrease of 13172.7 yuan per family income due to illness.The average annual personal income of patients decreased by 3986.3 yuan.75.8%(47 cases)of the patients were unemployed due to the disease,of which 40 were men,accounting for 85.1%of the unemployed,59.2%(113 cases)were in debt due to disease treatment,and 16.7%(32 cases)felt social discriminationConclusion:1.The household catastrophic health expenditure of tuberculosis patients is higher,and the economic burden is heavier.2.The burden of direct medical expenses of patients with pulmonary tuberculosis is heavy,which is the main factor of heavy economic burden3.Tuberculosis patients have a higher proportion of the cost of diagnosis and treatment before diagnosis4.Because of suffering from tuberculosis patients and family members of the social life has a certain impact.