The immediate economic impact of maternal deaths on rural Chinese households.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

To identify the immediate economic impact of maternal death on rural Chinese households.

Methods

Results are reported from a study that matched 195 households who had suffered a maternal death to 384 households that experienced a childbirth without maternal death in rural areas of three provinces in China, using quantitative questionnaire to compare differences of direct and indirect costs between two groups.

Findings

The direct costs of a maternal death were significantly higher than the costs of a childbirth without a maternal death (US$4,119 vs. $370, p<0.001). More than 40% of the direct costs were attributed to funeral expenses. Hospitalization and emergency care expenses were the largest proportion of non-funeral direct costs and were higher in househo

SUBMITTER: Ye F 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3368847 | biostudies-literature | 2012

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature