Gharibi Farid, Imani Ali, Dalal Koustuv
Food Safety Research Center (salt), Semnan University of Medical Sciences, Semnan, Iran.
Health Economics Department, Tabriz Health Service Management Research Center, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran.
BMC Health Serv Res. 2021 Mar 20;21(1):257. doi: 10.1186/s12913-021-06251-4.
The present study was designed and conducted to evaluate multiple sclerosis (MS) treatment costs and the resulting economic impact imposed on MS patients in Iran.
This was a cross-sectional study, among randomly selected 300 MS patients, registered in the MS Association of East Azerbaijan Province, Iran (1 year after their treatment began). The regression analysis, ANOVA, T-test, and chi-square were used.
The average amount of out-of-pocket payments (OOPs) by MS patients during the previous year was 1669.20 USD, most of which was spent on medication, rehabilitation care, and physician visits. Their mean annual income was 5182.84 USD. Fifty four percent of families with an MS patient suffer from catastrophic health expenditure (CHE) and 44% experience poverty caused by the OOPs. Occupational status, having supplemental health insurance, and being residents of Tabriz significantly affect OOPs, CHE, and the resulting poverty (P < 0.05).
The catastrophic financial burden of health care costs on MS patients and their families justifies health policymakers to promote pre-payment systems and provide subsidies to less well-off patients to protect them from the unfairness of OOPs and its resulting CHE and poverty.
本研究旨在评估伊朗多发性硬化症（MS）的治疗成本及其对MS患者造成的经济影响。
这是一项横断面研究，在伊朗东阿塞拜疆省MS协会登记的300名随机选择的MS患者中进行（治疗开始1年后）。采用回归分析、方差分析、T检验和卡方检验。
MS患者上一年的自付费用（OOPs）平均为1669.20美元，其中大部分用于药物治疗、康复护理和看医生。他们的年均收入为5182.84美元。54%的有MS患者的家庭遭受灾难性卫生支出（CHE），44%的家庭因自付费用而陷入贫困。职业状况、拥有补充医疗保险以及居住在大不里士显著影响自付费用、灾难性卫生支出及其导致的贫困（P<0.05）。
MS患者及其家庭面临的灾难性医疗费用负担，证明卫生政策制定者有必要推广预付制度，并向贫困患者提供补贴，以保护他们免受自付费用的不公平性及其导致的灾难性卫生支出和贫困的影响。
