Publication:

Optimizing state per capita health expenditure to alleviate cancer burden on hospitals in India: an exploratory study

Background One death among six is due to cancer globally. Low-and middle-income countries contribute 70% of total cancer cases. In India, cancer cases increased 44% in the last twelve years, but related infrastructure could not be developed. Indian states are lacking cancer-care services and patients need to travel long distance for treatment. This additional cost put pressure on the financial health of patients. The study aimed to analyse cancer burden and inequities in cancer-care services in different states of the country, and the importance of healthcare expenditure in reducing cancer burden.

Methods Data has been collected from various secondary sources such as ministry of health and family welfare, National-Cancer-Grid and Finance commission of India. Primary data has been collected from randomly selected hospital in Delhi with the help of structured questionnaire. Regression-analysis has been performed with the help of SPSS-version-22. Total 238 patients have been purposively selected as samples.

Results Cancer-cases are increasing across most of the Indian states. There is skewed availability of cancer-care hospitals in the country. In Bihar there is one cancer hospital for 12142 patients whereas in Maharashtra the figure is 1281. In the primary survey it was found that 75% patients were coming from outside the city for the treatment and travel expenses account for 43.8% of total indirect expenditures.

Conclusions Disparities in cancer-care facilities accentuates economic burden of cancer in the country. Increase in government expenditure reduces cancer burden on hospitals. The study provides actionable recommendations for policymakers, healthcare providers, and other stakeholders.