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Financial burden among US households affected by cancer at the end of life.

ABSTRACT: Economic burden on families coping with end-stage cancer remains poorly understood. Advanced malignancy threatens financial stability of families, and interventions are needed to buffer them from impoverishment. This study examined the relationship between subjective and objective assessments of financial burden on families (financial strain and stress, respectively) and identified potentially modifiable factors to inform intervention efforts.Using national survey data, we analyzed responses from households that had recently experienced a cancer death; 176 of households provided information on financial strain, and 158 provided data on financial stress. In addition to self-reported appraisals of financial burden, measures assessed elements of the cancer care experience, treatment, symptom burden, work impact, insurance coverage, and demographics.Despite being well insured, approximately a quarter of respondents reported that the cost of care was a major financial burden, and a third used all or most of their savings. Financial strain and stress were moderately positively correlated (r?=?0.46, p?

SUBMITTER: Cagle JG

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4956573 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Financial burden among US households affected by cancer at the end of life.

Cagle John G JG Carr Dawn C DC Hong Seokho S Zimmerman Sheryl S

Psycho-oncology 20150817 8

<h4>Objective</h4>Economic burden on families coping with end-stage cancer remains poorly understood. Advanced malignancy threatens financial stability of families, and interventions are needed to buffer them from impoverishment. This study examined the relationship between subjective and objective assessments of financial burden on families (financial strain and stress, respectively) and identified potentially modifiable factors to inform intervention efforts.<h4>Methods</h4>Using national surv ...[more]

PMID: 26282448

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Project description:BackgroundOne of the three main targets of the World Health Organization (WHO) End TB Strategy (2015-2035) is that no tuberculosis (TB) patients or their households face catastrophic costs (defined as exceeding 20% of the annual household income) because of the disease. Our study seeks to determine, as a baseline, the magnitude and main drivers of the costs associated with TB disease for patients and their households and to monitor the proportion of households experiencing catastrophic costs in Brazil.MethodsA national cross-sectional cluster-based survey was conducted in Brazil in 2019-2021 following WHO methodology. TB patients of all ages and types of TB were eligible for the survey. Adult TB patients and guardians of minors (<18 years old) were interviewed once about costs, time loss, coping measures, income, household expenses, and asset ownership. Total costs, including indirect costs measured as reported household income change, were expressed as a percentage of annual household income. We used descriptive statistics to analyze the cost drivers and multivariate logistic regression to determine factors associated with catastrophic costs.ResultsWe interviewed 603 patients, including 538 (89%) with drug-sensitive (DS) and 65 (11%) with drug-resistant (DR) TB. Of 603 affected households, 48.1% (95%CI: 43-53.2) experienced costs above 20% of their annual household income during their TB episode. The proportion was 44.4% and 78.5% among patients with DS- and DR-TB, respectively. On average, patients incurred costs of US$1573 (95%CI: 1361.8-1785.0) per TB episode, including pre-diagnosis and post-diagnosis expenses. Key cost drivers were post-diagnosis nutritional supplements (US$317.6, 95%CI: 232.7-402.6) followed by medical costs (US$85.5, 95%CI: 54.3-116.5) and costs of travel for clinic visits during treatment (US$79.2, 95%CI: 61.9-96.5). In multivariate analysis, predictors of catastrophic costs included positive HIV status (aOR = 3.0, 95%CI:1.1-8.6) and self-employment (aOR = 2.7, 95%CI:1.1-6.5); high education was a protective factor (aOR = 0.1, 95%CI:0.0-0.9).ConclusionsAlthough the services offered to patients with TB are free of charge in the Brazilian public health sector, the availability of free diagnosis and treatment services does not alleviate patients' financial burden related to accessing TB care. The study allowed us to identify the costs incurred by patients and suggest actions to mitigate their suffering. In addition, this study established a baseline for monitoring catastrophic costs and fostering a national policy to reduce the costs to patients for TB care in Brazil.

Project description:BackgroundTuberculosis (TB) patients incur large costs for care seeking, diagnosis, and treatment. To understand the magnitude of this financial burden and its main cost drivers, the Lao People's Democratic Republic (PDR) National TB Programme carried out the first national TB patient cost survey in 2018-2019.MethodA facility-based cross-sectional survey was conducted based on a nationally representative sample of TB patients from public health facilities across 12 provinces. A total of 848 TB patients including 30 drug resistant (DR)-TB and 123 TB-HIV coinfected patients were interviewed using a standardised questionnaire developed by the World Health Organization. Information on direct medical, direct non-medical and indirect costs, as well as coping mechanisms was collected. We estimated the percentage of TB-affected households facing catastrophic costs, which was defined as total TB-related costs accounting for more than 20% of annual household income.ResultThe median total cost of TB care was US$ 755 (Interquartile range 351-1,454). The costs were driven by direct non-medical costs (46.6%) and income loss (37.6%). Nutritional supplements accounted for 74.7% of direct non-medical costs. Half of the patients used savings, borrowed money or sold household assets to cope with TB. The proportion of unemployment more than doubled from 16.8% to 35.4% during the TB episode, especially among those working in the informal sector. Of all participants, 62.6% of TB-affected households faced catastrophic costs. This proportion was higher among households with DR-TB (86.7%) and TB-HIV coinfected patients (81.1%).ConclusionIn Lao PDR, TB patients and their households faced a substantial financial burden due to TB, despite the availability of free TB services in public health facilities. As direct non-medical and indirect costs were major cost drivers, providing free TB services is not enough to ease this financial burden. Expansion of existing social protection schemes to accommodate the needs of TB patients is necessary.

Project description:BackgroundThe World Health Organization's End Tuberculosis Strategy states that no tuberculosis (TB)-affected households should endure catastrophic costs due to TB. To achieve this target, it is essential to provide adequate social protection. As only a few studies in many countries have evaluated social-protection programs to determine whether the target is being reached, we assessed the effect of financial support on reducing the incidence of catastrophic costs due to TB in Indonesia.MethodsFrom July to September 2016, we interviewed adult patients receiving treatment for TB in 19 primary health centres in urban, sub-urban and rural area of Indonesia, and those receiving multidrug-resistant (MDR) TB treatment in an Indonesian national referral hospital. Based on the needs assessment, we developed eight scenarios for financial support. We assessed the effect of each simulated scenario by measuring reductions in the incidence of catastrophic costs.ResultsWe analysed data of 282 TB and 64 MDR-TB patients. The incidences of catastrophic costs in affected households were 36 and 83%, respectively. Patients' primary needs for social protection were financial support to cover costs related to income loss, transportation, and food supplements. The optimum scenario, in which financial support would be provided for these three items, would reduce the respective incidences of catastrophic costs in TB and MDR-TB-affected households to 11 and 23%. The patients experiencing catastrophic costs in this scenario would, however, have to pay high remaining costs (median of USD 910; [interquartile range (IQR) 662] in the TB group, and USD 2613; [IQR 3442] in the MDR-TB group).ConclusionsIndonesia's current level of social protection is not sufficient to mitigate the socioeconomic impact of TB. Financial support for income loss, transportation costs, and food-supplement costs will substantially reduce the incidence of catastrophic costs, but financial support alone will not be sufficient to achieve the target of 0% TB-affected households facing catastrophic costs. This would require innovative social-protection policies and higher levels of domestic and external funding.

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Financial burden among US households affected by cancer at the end of life.

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Financial burden among US households affected by cancer at the end of life.

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