Karami M, Najafi F, Karami Matin B
Kermanshah Health Research Center (KHRC), Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Iran.
J Res Health Sci. 2009 Dec 28;9(2):36-40.
Health policy makers are concerned about protecting people from catastrophic health expenditures and subsequent impoverishment. This study aimed to describe the magnitude and distribution of catastrophic health expenditures in Kermanshah western Iran.
In this descriptive study, during May 2008, 189 households were chosen by "Systematic Random sampling" among the community of Maskan in Maskan Center for Population. After getting the informed consent forms signed, data ere collected using a questionnaire by interviewing the head of the families. The cut-off point for catastrophic expenditure was defined as health expenditures over 40% of household's capacity to pay.
From a total of 189 households, 22.2% (42) households (95% CI 16.3%- 28.1%) incurred catastrophic health expenditures. Out of 42 households, for 11.9%, the head of family was female. 40.5 % had one member younger than 12 years old, 26.2% had one member older than sixty years old, and 9.5% were households with at least one member with chronic condition. In addition, 19% were uninsured. In addition, because of financial burden of health expenditures 21.4% of the households sold their jewels, 16.7% used up their savings and 47.6% were in debt.
Compared to 2% of general population facing catastrophic health expenditure, 22.2% was a high proportion. Our study revealed the importance of protecting households against the cost of ill-health.
卫生政策制定者关注保护人们免受灾难性医疗支出及随后的贫困影响。本研究旨在描述伊朗西部克尔曼沙赫灾难性医疗支出的规模和分布情况。
在这项描述性研究中，2008年5月，通过“系统随机抽样”在马斯坎人口中心的马斯坎社区选取了189户家庭。在获得签署的知情同意书后，通过采访户主使用问卷收集数据。灾难性支出的临界点定义为医疗支出超过家庭支付能力的40%。
在总共189户家庭中，22.2%（42户）家庭（95%可信区间16.3%-28.1%）发生了灾难性医疗支出。在42户家庭中，11.9%的户主为女性。40.5%的家庭有一名12岁以下成员，26.2%的家庭有一名60岁以上成员，9.5%的家庭至少有一名慢性病患者。此外，19%的家庭没有保险。此外，由于医疗支出的经济负担，21.4%的家庭出售了珠宝，16.7%的家庭用完了积蓄，47.6%的家庭负债。
与面临灾难性医疗支出的2%的普通人群相比，22.2%是一个很高的比例。我们的研究揭示了保护家庭免受健康不佳成本影响的重要性。
