Publication:

The financial burden of sickle cell disease among parents of children with sickle cell disease in Lagos, Nigeria

Background Sickle cell disease is a genetic condition that affects millions of people globally. In view of this, the study aims at determining the financial burden of sickle cell disease among caregivers of children with sickle cell disease in Nigeria.

Methods It was a descriptive cross sectional study and systematic sampling method was used in selecting 162 caregivers amongst the patients in the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital. Semi-structured questionnaires were used to collect data and analysed using SPSS version 22 software and Microsoft Excel 2007. Results were presented in frequency tables, chi-square to test association between categorical variables and the statistical significance level was set at p<0.05.

Results The mean age of the caregivers was 34.3 years with an increase in frequency of hospitalization 39% amongst respondents and a cost of hospital bill was over thirty thousand naira (US$76.82). The reason given mostly by 77% of the respondents for non-usage of health insurance was that the enrolment’s premium was high and 53% of the caregivers took loan to treat their wards. Catastrophic healthcare expenditure was found among a quarter 21% of the respondents due to non-usage of health insurance. There was a statistical significance association between level of education and Catastrophic healthcare expenditure at p value <0.05.

Conclusions Due to high level of financial burden on caregivers and family members, it will be an important step for the government to strengthen the health insurance scheme, intensify campaigns and subsidize costs of healthcare for these patients.