Department of Clinical Pharmacy, College of Pharmacy, Prince Sattam Bin Abdulaziz University, Riyadh 16278, Saudi Arabia.
Drug & Pharmaceutical Affairs, Riyadh First Health Cluster (C1) at Ministry of Health, Riyadh 12233, Saudi Arabia.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 Aug 8;19(15):9736. doi: 10.3390/ijerph19159736.
Households' economic burden associated with chronic non-communicable diseases (NCDs) is a deterrent to healthcare access, adversely impacting patients' health. Therefore, we investigated the extent of out-of-pocket (OOP) spending among individuals diagnosed with chronic NCDs among household members in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Face-to-face interviews were conducted among households in Riyadh Province from the beginning of January 2021 to the end of June 2021. The respondents were asked to record OOP spending throughout the past three months in their health. A generalized linear regression model was used to determine the effects of several factors on the level of OOP spending. A total of 39.6% of the households studied had at least one member with a chronic NCD. Diabetes patients spent an average of SAR 932 (USD 248), hypertension patients SAR 606 (USD 162), and hypothyroid patients SAR 402 (USD 107). It was shown that households with older and more educated members had greater OOP spending. Households with an employed head of household, more family members, higher SES status, health insurance coverage, and urban residency had significantly higher OOP expenditure. The burden of OOP spending for chronic NCD households remains high, with some disparities. The research offers important information for decision making to lower OOP cost among NCD households.
家庭因慢性非传染性疾病（NCD）而产生的经济负担是获得医疗保健的障碍，对患者的健康产生不利影响。因此，我们调查了沙特阿拉伯利雅得家庭中患有慢性 NCD 的患者自付支出（OOP）的程度。2021 年 1 月初至 6 月底，在利雅得省进行了家庭面对面访谈。受访者被要求记录过去三个月的健康 OOP 支出。使用广义线性回归模型来确定多个因素对 OOP 支出水平的影响。研究中共有 39.6%的家庭至少有一名患有慢性 NCD 的成员。糖尿病患者平均花费 SAR932（USD248），高血压患者花费 SAR606（USD162），甲状腺功能减退症患者花费 SAR402（USD107）。结果表明，家庭中有年龄较大和受教育程度较高的成员，OOP 支出就越大。家庭中户主就业、家庭成员较多、社会经济地位较高、有医疗保险覆盖以及居住在城市的家庭，其 OOP 支出明显更高。慢性 NCD 家庭的 OOP 支出负担仍然很高，存在一些差异。该研究为降低 NCD 家庭的 OOP 成本提供了重要的决策依据。
