Publication

Cost of management of severe pneumonia in young children: systematic analysis

Authored by:

Zhang S, Sammon PM, King I, et al.

Full Citation:

Zhang S, Sammon PM, King I, et al. 2016. Cost of management of severe pneumonia in young children: systematic analysis. Journal of Global Health. 6(1).

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Additional key concepts from this publication:

Illness episodes can cause catastrophic health expenditures to a household, both medical and non-medical out-of-pocket expenditures.

Key Evidence: Three studies in Bangladesh and India found that the direct medical costs for children hospitalized with pneumonia were 27% to 116% of the average monthly income of households. And, while these costs represent a major portion of a family’s monthly income, they don’t include non-medical costs, such as transport and food costs, nor the lost wages of family members who miss work to care for the child.

Treatment of vaccine-preventable disease carries a heavy financial toll for health systems and for families.

Key Evidence: In a global review of the costs of treating childhood pneumonia, the average costs of a hospitalized case of pneumonia in children under five years of age was US$243 in primary or secondary hospitals in low- and middle-income countries (ranging from US$40 – US$563) and US$559 in tertiary hospitals (ranging from US$20 – US$1,474). In high-income countries, the cost of hospitalized cases averaged US$2,800 in primary or secondary hospitals and more than US$7,000 in tertiary hospitals. Note that in most of these studies, only direct medical costs were included and thus total costs – including non-medical costs and lost wages – would be considerably higher.