The economic burden of malaria on the household in south-central Vietnam

Morel, Chantal M., Ngo Duc, Thang, Nguyen, Xuan Xa, Le Xuan, Hung, Le Khan, Thuan, Pham, Van Ky, Erhart, Annette, Mills, Anne J. and D'Alessandro, Umberto (2008) The economic burden of malaria on the household in south-central Vietnam. Malaria Journal, 7 (166). ISSN 1475-2875

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Abstract

Background Each year, several thousand cases of malaria occur in south-central Vietnam. Evidence from elsewhere suggests that malaria can have an economic impact on the household as the illness prevents households from completing their normal, physically demanding, productive duties such as tending crops and animals. The economic impact of malaria on households was explored within the Raglay ethnic minority living in the montainous and forested area of south-central Vietnam (Ninh Thuan Province). Methods Two-hundred fifty-one malaria patients were identified and interviewed in an exit survey at Community Health Centres. The same patient sample was then re-interviewed in a household survey two to four weeks later. Survey data were complemented by approximately 40 informal discussions with health workers, vendors, patients, and community leaders. Results Each episode of malaria was estimated to cost the patient's household an average of 11.79 USD (2005 prices), direct costs for travel and treatment representing 6% of the total while the remainder was loss in annual income. Conclusion Whilst government provision of malaria treatment keeps the direct costs relatively low, the overall loss in income due to illness can still be significant given the poverty amongst this population, especially when multiple cases of malaria occur annually within the same household.

Item Type:	Article
Official URL:	http://www.malariajournal.com/
Additional Information:	© 2008 The Authors; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Divisions:	Social Policy LSE Health
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HC Economic History and Conditions R Medicine > RA Public aspects of medicine
Date Deposited:	13 Jul 2010 15:55
Last Modified:	12 Nov 2024 19:42
URI:	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/28558

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