Does reducing out-of-pocket costs for children's surgical care protect families from poverty in Somaliland? A cross-sectional, national, economic evaluation modelling study.

ABSTRACT:

Objectives

An estimated 1.7 billion children around the world do not have access to safe, affordable and timely surgical care, with the financing through out-of-pocket (OOP) expenses being one of the main barriers to care. Our study modelled the impact of reducing OOP costs related to surgical care for children in Somaliland on the risk of catastrophic expenditures and impoverishment.

Design and setting

This cross-sectional nationwide economic evaluation modelled several different approaches to reduction of paediatric OOP surgical costs in Somaliland.

Participants and outcome measures

A surgical record review of all procedures on children up to 15 years old was conducted at 15 surgically capable hospitals. We modelled two rates of OOP cost reduction (reduction of OOP

SUBMITTER: Smith ER 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10163539 | biostudies-literature | 2023 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature