Tuberculosis patients in the Dominican Republic face severe direct and indirect costs and need social protection (original) (raw)

2013, Revista Panamericana de Salud Pública

Objective. To examine direct and indirect costs incurred by new, retreatment, and multidrug-resistant (MDR) tuberculosis (TB) patients in the Dominican Republic before and during diagnosis, and during treatment, to generate an evidence base and formulate recommendations. Methods. The "Tool to Estimate Patients' Costs" was adapted to the local setting, translated into Spanish, and pretested. Patients attending 32 randomly selected health facilities in six chosen study areas on the study days were interviewed. Responses from patients 18-65 years old who had received treatment for at least one month and provided signed informed consent were collected, entered into a database, and analyzed. Results. A total of 200 patients were interviewed. For most respondents, direct and indirect costs increased while income decreased.

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