Publication:

Out of pocket expenditure on hypertension and diabetes mellitus among people residing in the rural field practice area of a medical college: a community based cross-sectional study

Background Out-of-pocket expenditure (OOPE) on health care especially with non-communicable diseases forces households into poverty. The study was conducted with the aim of understanding the out-of-pocket health expenditure and their coping mechanisms in patients suffering from hypertension and diabetes mellitus in the rural field practice area.

Methods A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 230 study participants suffering from hypertension or diabetes mellitus or both in the rural field practice area of Andhra Medical College, Visakhapatnam.

Results The total mean OOPE among hypertensives was ₹ 501.69, among diabetics it was ₹ 1522.27, and among both hypertensives and diabetics, it was ₹1352.93. Age<50 years, being literate, belonging to upper-middle and lower-middle socioeconomic status, being married, suffering from diabetes mellitus and receiving treatment from a private hospital were associated with the presence of OOPE.

Conclusions The current study highlights the rising economic burden of hypertension and diabetes mellitus. There is a significant impact of OOPE on household finances. Many households resort to coping mechanisms such as family members providing the money, borrowing money, selling assets or spending from savings or pension.