What is the financial burden to patients of accessing surgical care in Sierra Leone? A cross-sectional survey of catastrophic and impoverishing expenditure.

ABSTRACT:

Objectives

To measure the financial burden associated with accessing surgical care in Sierra Leone.

Design

A cross-sectional survey conducted with patients at the time of discharge from tertiary-level care. This captured demographics, yearly household expenditure, direct medical, direct non-medical and indirect costs for surgical care, and summary household assets. Missing data were imputed.

Setting

The main tertiary-level hospital in Freetown, Sierra Leone.

Participants

335 surgical patients under the care of the hospital surgical team receiving operative or non-operative surgical care on the surgical wards.

Outcome measures

Rates of catastrophic expenditure (a cost >10% of annual expenditure), impoverishment (being pushed into, or further into, poverty

SUBMITTER: Phull M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7942261 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature