ICMR Study Reveals TB Patients Face Severe Financial Burden from Lost Productivity and Hospitalization
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New Delhi, Dec 13 (NationPress) Tuberculosis (TB) patients in India are encountering alarmingly high expenses attributed to lost productivity and hospitalization, as revealed by research conducted by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).
The investigation, spearheaded by experts at the ICMR-National Institute of Epidemiology (ICMR-NIE) in Chennai, highlighted that TB remains a considerable social and economic challenge for families.
According to the research team, led by Kathiresan Jeyashree, a scientist at ICMR-NIE, “Individuals suffering from TB in India face substantial costs primarily due to lost productivity and hospitalization. Almost 50% of these individuals confront catastrophic expenses, particularly those from lower economic quintiles.”
“Even though diagnosis and treatment are provided at no cost through the National TB Elimination Programme (NTEP), many patients still face considerable out-of-pocket costs and lost income, which leads to financial distress,” he noted.
The findings, published in the Global Health Research and Policy journal, assessed the financial impact on 1,407 TB patients during their treatment and identified various factors influencing these costs.
The cross-sectional study evaluated total patient expenses, including direct medical, non-medical, and indirect costs.
Catastrophic costs were classified as expenditures on TB care exceeding 20% of a household's annual income.
The average age of the patients was 40.8 years, with 865 (61.5%) being male, and 786 (55.9%) were actively engaged in the workforce.
Among them, 34 (2.4%) were diagnosed with drug-resistant TB (DRTB), while 258 (18.3%) had required hospitalization due to TB.
Direct costs constituted 34% of the overall expenses. TB patients under 60 years, those lacking health insurance, and individuals hospitalized for the disease incurred higher median costs.
Approximately 45% of TB patients faced catastrophic financial burdens.
Significantly, hospitalized TB patients and those referred from the private sector were more likely to experience catastrophic costs.
The study advocates for the prompt notification of TB cases and for “broadening the scope of health insurance plans to encompass individuals affected by TB.”
“Implementing TB-sensitive strategies to tackle the social determinants of TB could notably lessen the catastrophic costs borne by TB patients,” stated Jeyashree.
