Burden of chronic illness and associated disabilities in Bangladesh: Evidence from the Household Income and Expenditure Survey

Cost-effectiveness of seasonal influenza vaccination in WHO-defined high-risk populations in Bangladesh

Background

Bangladesh carries a substantial health and economic burden of seasonal influenza, particularly among the World Health Organization (WHO)-defined high-risk populations. We implemented a modelling study to determine the cost-effectiveness of influenza vaccination in each of five high-risk groups (pregnant women, children under five years of age, adults with underlying health conditions, older adults (≥60 years), and healthcare personnel) to inform policy decisions on risk group prioritisation for influenza vaccination in Bangladesh.

Methods

We implemented a Markov decision-analytic model to estimate the impact of influenza vaccination for each target risk group. We obtained model inputs from hospital-based influenza surveillance data, unpublished surveys, and published literature (preferentially from studies in Bangladesh, followed by regional and global ones). We used quality-adjusted life years (QALY) as the health outcome of interest. We also estimated incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICERs) for each risk group by comparing the costs and QALY of vaccinating compared to not vaccinating each group, where the ICER represents the additional cost needed to achieve one year of additional QALY from a given intervention. We considered a willingness-to-pay threshold (ICER) of less than one gross domestic product (GDP) per capita as highly cost-effective and of one to three times GDP per capita as cost-effective (per WHO standard). For Bangladesh, this threshold ranges between USD 2462 and USD 7386.

Results

The estimated ICERs were USD -99, USD -87, USD -4, USD 792, and USD 229 per QALY gained for healthcare personnel, older adults (≥60), children aged less than five years, adults with comorbid conditions, and pregnant women, respectively. For all risk groups, ICERs were below the WHO willingness-to-pay threshold for Bangladesh. Vaccinating pregnant women and adults with comorbid conditions was highly cost-effective per additional life year gained, while vaccinating healthcare personnel, older adults (≥60), and children under five years were cost-saving per additional life year gained.

Conclusions

Influenza vaccination to all target risk groups in Bangladesh would be either cost-saving or cost-effective, per WHO guidelines of GDP-based thresholds.

Prevalence and determinants of multiple chronic conditions (MCC) among young adults in Indian households: an analysis of NFHS-5

BACKGROUND

Multiple chronic conditions (MCC) are defined as the presence of two or more chronic conditions, that significantly impact health status, functional capacity, quality of life, and overall healthcare management. Despite the significant evidence on chronic disease burden, the co-existence of MCC within a household in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) is less studied. This study therefore estimates the prevalence of MCC and its determinants among adults in the Indian households.

METHODS

Data used in this study were drawn from the fifth round of the National Family Health Survey (NFHS) conducted in 2019-21. Data sets of men (15-54 years) and women (15-49 years) were used for the study. The total sample size of adults for this analysis was N = 239,848. The outcome variable of this study was multiple chronic conditions (MCC) in adults which included a total of nine chronic conditions (hypertension, diabetes, chronic respiratory diseases, chronic kidney disorders, cancer, thyroid disorders, obesity, and heart diseases, consuming alcohol, chewing tobacco, and smoking) documented in NFHS-5. Descriptive statistics and binary logistic regression analysis were used to quantify the results.

RESULTS

A prevalence of 5.5% of MCC in adults emerged from our study. Logistic regression analysis identified that younger age, males (AOR 0.36 (0.33-0.39)), urban areas (AOR 1.11 (1.02-1.17)) as the place of residence, and participants representing SC (AOR 0.89 (0.81-0.97)), and ST (AOR 1.30 (1.17-1.45)), had a higher risk of MCC irrespective of level of education, type of occupation, marital status, or wealth index, and states from any category of social progress.

CONCLUSION

A 5% prevalence of MCC specifically obesity, substance use, and hypertension calls for integrated efforts aiming at behavior change, and regulatory efforts to prevent further increase of MCC among young adults in India.

The impact of comorbidity on the quality of life of people who recovered from COVID-19 in Bangladesh

Objectives

COVID-19 affects the quality of life (QoL) in a reverse way after recovery, which might be multiplied by the comorbid non-communicable diseases. This study explored the relationship between comorbidities and the QoL of people who recovered from COVID-19 in Bangladesh.

Methods

The cross-sectional study was conducted among 3244 participants between June 2020 and November 2020 using a pre-tested questionnaire through over-the-phone interviews. The WHOQOL-BREF was used to explore the QoL among the study participants. A multivariable linear regression model was conducted to identify the effects of the number of comorbidities on QoL scores of all four domains.

Results

Of 3244 patients who recovered from COVID-19, over one-third (39.4%) had one or more chronic diseases, such as hypertension, diabetes mellitus, ischemic heart disease, bronchial asthma/chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, chronic kidney disease, and cancer. Around 46.85% of the participants aged above 40 years presented with one to two chronic diseases, and 16.33% had three or more chronic diseases. Among all comorbidities, the participants with cancer and chronic kidney disease were found to have relatively lower scores in all four domains than other comorbidities. The lowest QoL scores were observed in the psychological domain. Those with three or more simultaneous chronic comorbidities had the lowest QoL score in all four domains: physical, psychological, social relationship, and environmental.

Conclusions

Persons who recovered from COVID-19 with comorbidities undergo a lower QoL. Therefore, special attention is required to these vulnerable groups to ensure their smooth recuperation.

Self-reported suicidal behaviour among people living with disabilities: prevalence and associated factors from a cross-sectional nation-wide survey in Bangladesh

BACKGROUND

Disability marginalises a large portion of Bangladesh's population. Global pre- and post-pandemic research evidently states that, this group is more prone to develop mental health problems, which increases the risk of self-harm and suicide among them. It is crucial to comprehend and mitigate the mental health challenges among the people with disabilities which in turn can promote their greater participation in community, and in national socioeconomic development. However, currently there is limited information available, regarding the suicidal behaviour of this group in Bangladesh. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the prevalence and contributing factors of suicidal behaviour among people with disabilities.

METHOD

A cross-sectional survey was conducted during September and October 2022, among the participants who had selected disabilities, by using probability proportional to size sampling technique across all eight divisions of Bangladesh. A semi-structured questionnaire comprising information about sociodemographic, lifestyle, health; and Suicidal Behaviour Questionnaire-Revision (SBQ-R) was used. The association between the determinants and mental health outcome was investigated using the Chi-square test, and the contributing factors were investigated using the multiple binary logistic regression.

RESULT

About 10.45% of the participants reported to have suicidal behaviour (e.g., suicidal ideation, attempts, completed suicide), considering the cut-off score as 7 for the SBQ-R in the study period. Approximately, 40% respondents mentioned suicidal ideation in their lifetime, whereas, 9.01% had suicidal ideation over the past 12 months. Additionally, 8.87% of the person with disabilities, mentioned about their suicidal intent to the family members, and 5.94% reported the likelihood of suicide in the future. Being female, having multiple disabilities, and not being connected with family and friends were found to be significantly associated with suicidal behaviour.

CONCLUSION

This research demonstrates the significance of treating mental health issues and expanding accessibility to pre-existing services to lessen the impact of the limitations generated by disabilities. Policymakers can utilize this baseline findings to design large scale research and develop measures for suicide prevention, and management for at-risk groups.

Acceptability, cost-effectiveness, and capacity of a facility-based seasonal influenza vaccination among high-risk groups: a study protocol in selected tertiary care hospitals of Bangladesh

BACKGROUND

In Bangladesh, seasonal influenza imposes considerable disease and economic burden, especially for those at high-risk of severe disease. The most successful approach for influenza prevention is the administration of a vaccine. Many poor and middle-income nations, including Bangladesh, do not have a national strategy or program in place for seasonal influenza vaccines, despite the World Health Organization's (WHO) advice to prioritize high-risk populations. Additionally, there is a scarcity of substantial data on the cost-effectiveness of seasonal influenza vaccination in these countries. The aim of our study is to determine acceptability, health beliefs, barriers, and intention of receiving influenza vaccine among high-risk populations, assess the cost-effectiveness of implementing a facility-based seasonal influenza vaccination programme, and investigate the required capacity for a potential seasonal influenza vaccination programme.

METHODS

We will undertake this study following STROBE guidelines. We will conduct the study in inpatient and outpatient departments of three selected tertiary-level hospitals leveraging the ongoing hospital-based influenza surveillance (HBIS) platform. The study population will include the WHO-defined four high-risk groups excluding healthcare workers: children six months to eight years, pregnant women, elderly ≥ 60 years, and adults with chronic diseases. We will collect quantitative data on participants' acceptability, health beliefs, barriers, and vaccination intentions using the health belief model (HBM) from patients meeting the criteria for high-risk populations attending two public tertiary-level hospitals. In one of the two public tertiary-level hospitals, we will arrange an influenza vaccination campaign before the influenza season, where the vaccine will be offered free of cost to high-risk patients, and in the second hospital, vaccination will not be offered. Both the vaccinated and unvaccinated participants will then be followed-up once a month for one year to record any influenza-like illness, hospitalization, and death. Additional data for objective two will be collected from patients with symptoms of influenza-like illness (ILI) and severe acute respiratory infection (SARI) at one public and one private hospital to determine both direct and indirect costs associated with influenza illness. We will estimate the required number of influenza vaccines, safe injections, and total storage volume utilizing secondary data. We will use a deterministic Markov decision-analytic model to estimate the cost-effectiveness of facility-based influenza vaccination in Bangladesh.

DISCUSSION

The results of this study will enable the National Immunization Technical Advisory Group and the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare of Bangladesh to decide what steps to take to develop and implement an influenza vaccination strategy targeting high-risk populations.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

The Clinicaltrials.gov registration number is NCT05996549. The registration for the protocol version 2.0 took place in August 2023, with the initial participant being enrolled in March 2022.

Prevalence and patterns of comorbidities in people with disabilities and their associated socio-demographic factors

The presence of comorbidities among individuals with disabilities worsens their already complex health and social circumstances. This study aims to explore prevalence and patterns of morbidities among persons with disabilities in Bangladesh and identify associated socio-demographic factors. Data from 4270 persons with disability was analysed extracted from the 2021 Bangladesh National Household Survey on Persons with Disability. Outcome variable considered was the occurrence of morbidity among persons with disabilities. Explanatory variables encompassed factors at the individual, household, and community levels. Adjusted and unadjusted multilevel mixed-effects logistic regression model was used to explore association of outcome variable with explanatory variables. We found that approximately half of individuals with disabilities experienced one or more morbidities, with chronic conditions being the most prevalent (44%). Around 42% of total persons with disability were unable to work. Specifically, hypertension (18.3%), diabetes (9.1%), and heart problems (17.1%) were prevalent chronic conditions. The likelihood of experiencing comorbidity was found to be higher among females (aOR 1.3, 95% CI 1.1, 1.7), increase year of education (aOR, 1.1, 95% CI 1.0-1.2), and those from wealthier households (aOR 1.6, 95% CI 1.2, 2.2). This underscores the need for targeted policies and interventions addressing their distinct healthcare needs.

The Effect of Big Data-Based Digital Payments on Household Healthcare Expenditure

Whether families using big data-based digital payments will increase household healthcare expenditure is a subject that needs to be investigated in the era of big data. Based on the data from China Family Panel Studies (CFPS), 24,126 samples from 2014 to 2018 are used to examine the impact and mechanism of big data-based digital payments on household healthcare expenditure. The empirical results of this paper show that the use of digital payments by households can significantly increase household healthcare expenditure with the empowerment of big data. This research employs the instrumental variable method to verify and produce consistent estimation results in order to address potential endogeneity issues such as measurement error and missing variables. We learn via mechanism analysis that household adoption of big data-driven digital payments can remove credit limitations and build social capital, resulting in higher household health-care spending. We also perform a heterogeneity analysis. The findings reveal that when a family's traditional financial accessibility is high, the head of the household is young or middle-aged, and the head of the household has a higher level of education, digital payment will play a larger role in encouraging household healthcare expenditure. The conclusions of this paper are still solid after changing the indicators of household healthcare expenditure substituting the indicators of digital payment, and adjusting the variables. As a result, this article provides micro-evidence for the usage of digital payments by households to enhance healthcare spending.

Do the issues of religious minority and coastal climate crisis increase the burden of chronic illness in Bangladesh?

BACKGROUND

Chronic illness with disability and its out-of-pocket expenditure (OOPE) remains a big financial challenge in Bangladesh. The purpose of this study was to explore how religious minority problem and coastal climate crisis with other common risk factors determined chronic illness with a disability and its financial burden in Bangladesh. Existing policy responses, especially, social safety net programs and their governance were analyzed for suggesting better policy options that avoid distress financing.

METHODS

Binary logistic and multiple linear regression models were respectively used to identify the factors of disability, and high OOPE based on Bangladesh Household Income and Expenditure Survey 2016 data.

RESULTS

We found that disable people had relatively higher OOPE than their non-disabled counterparts and this OOPE further surges when the number of disabilities increases. In addition to the common factors, the novelty of our findings indicated that the religious minority problem as well as the coastal climate crisis have bearing on the disability burden in Bangladesh. The likelihood of having a chronic illness with a disability was 13.2% higher for the religious minorities compared to the majorities (Odds ratio (OR): 1.132, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.033-1.241) and it was 21.6% higher for the people who lived in the exposed coast than those who lived in the non-exposed area (OR: 1.216, 95% CI: 1.107-1.335). With disabilities, people from the exposed coast incurred higher OOPE than those from the non-exposed areas. Although receiving assistance from social safety net programs (SSNPs) seemed to reduce their high OOPE and financial distress such as selling assets and being indebted, the distribution was not equitably and efficiently managed to confirm the process of inclusion leakage-free. On average, those who enrolled from the minority group and the exposed coast paid the relatively higher bribes.

CONCLUSIONS

To reduce burden, the government should strengthen and specify the existing SSNPs more for disable people, especially from the minority group and the exposed coast, and ensure the selection process more inclusive and leakage-free.

Does disability increase households' health financial risk: evidence from the Uganda demographic and health survey

BACKGROUND

In the last few years, there has been a worldwide commitment to protect the vulnerable individuals from higher financial risk through out-of-pocket (OOP) health expenditure. This study examines the influence of disability and socio-demographic factors on households' health financial risks in Uganda.

METHODS

We used nationally representative cross-sectional data from the Uganda Demographic and Health Survey (UDHS) collected in 2016 by the Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS) in Uganda. We measured financial risk (households' health expenditure) by money paid for health care services. We estimated the "probit" model to investigate the effect of disability on health financial risk.

RESULTS

A total of 19,305 households were included in this study. Almost 32% of households paid money for health care services access, among which 32% paid through out-of-pocket. Almost 41% of household heads were affected by disability. The majority (73%) of families went to the public sector for health care services. The mean age was 45 years (SD ± 15). We find that disability is significantly associated with the household financial risk (p < 0.01). The private sector's choice for health care services is likely to positively affect the financial risk compared to the public sector (p < 0.01). The wealthier the household was, the more money paid for health service was (p < 0.01).

CONCLUSION

Our results indicated that disability and household socio-demographic characteristics were associated with health financial risk in Uganda. Identifying families with disability and experiencing difficult living conditions constitute an entry point for health authorities to enhance health coverage progress in low and middle-income countries.

Assessment of Depression and Anxiety Among Admitted People With Heart Disease Conditions: A Cross-Sectional Hospital-Based Study in a Bangladeshi Population During the COVID-19

OBJECTIVE

Depression and anxiety are widespread and chronic among patients with heart disease. We wanted to determine the proportion of heart patients with depression and anxiety levels as well as factors contributing toward depression and anxiety among hospitalized heart disease patients in Dhaka, Bangladesh during the COVID-19 era.

METHODS

The study comprised a total of 384 participants with a confirmed heart disease diagnosis. We conducted a cross-sectional study from 5th March to 27th June 2021. The hospital-based study admitted patients sequentially with a new or pre-existing heart disease diagnosis to one of Dhaka's two leading hospitals. The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale screened all individuals for depression and anxiety.

RESULT

Most of the respondents (88.2%) were male and within the age categories of 51-60 years (32.81%). 96.6% of the patients were married, 30% had no income, 36.6% had only completed classes 1-5, and ~47% resided in rural areas. Approximately 36% of the study participants were former smokers, with 31% current smokers. Borderline abnormal and abnormal levels of anxiety and borderline abnormal and abnormal levels of depression were found in (23.9%, 49.4%) and (55.7%, 13.3%), respectively, of hospitalized patients. Age, residence, profession, monthly income, and chronic disease were significant predictors of anxiety, while only gender remained significantly associated with depression.

CONCLUSION

Hospitalized Bangladeshi patients with heart disease had moderate levels of depression and anxiety. There is a need to develop a quick screening approach in hospitals dealing with hospitalized patients with heart disease to identify those needing extra evaluation and care.

Patients' choice of healthcare providers and predictors of modern healthcare utilisation in Bangladesh: Household Income and Expenditure Survey (HIES) 2016-2017 (BBS)

OBJECTIVES

The number of modern healthcare providers in Bangladesh has increased and they are well equipped with modern medical instruments and infrastructures. Despite this development, patients seeking treatment from alternative healthcare providers are ongoing. Hence, this study aims to determine the underlying predictors of patients' choosing modern healthcare providers and health facilities for getting treatments.

SETTING

Data from the nationally representative Household Income and Expenditure Survey 2016-2017 conducted by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics were used.

PARTICIPANTS

34 512 respondents sought treatment for their illnesses from different types of available healthcare providers.

PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURE

Patients' choice of healthcare providers (primary) and predictors of patients' choice of modern healthcare providers (secondary).

RESULTS

The study found that 40% of the patients visit modern healthcare providers primarily on having symptoms of illness, and the remainder goes to alternative healthcare providers. Patients living in urban areas (adjusted OR (AOR)=1.11, 95% CI 1.05 to 1.17, p<0.01), and if the travel time was between 1 and 2 hours (AOR=1.11, 95% CI 1.00 to 1.22, p<0.05) compared with travel time less than 1 hour, were positively associated to utilisation of modern healthcare facilities for their first consultation. The statistical models show that the predisposing and need factors do not significantly impact patients' choice of modern healthcare providers.

CONCLUSIONS

The distribution of modern healthcare providers should be even across the country to eliminate the rural-urban divide in modern healthcare utilisation. Enhancing the digital provision of modern healthcare services could reduce travel time, omit transportation costs and save waiting time for treatment by the modern healthcare providers. Policymakers can think of introducing a national health insurance programme in Bangladesh as a potential policy instrument.

Chronic diseases: An added burden to income and expenses of chronically-ill people in Sri Lanka

In the global context, health and the quality of life of people are adversely affected by either one or more types of chronic diseases. This paper investigates the differences in the level of income and expenditure between chronically-ill people and non-chronic population. Data were gathered from a national level survey conducted namely, the Household Income and Expenditure Survey (HIES) by the Department of Census and Statistics (DCS) of Sri Lanka. These data were statistically analysed with one-way and two-way ANOVA, to identify the factors that cause the differences among different groups. For the first time, this study makes an attempt using survey data, to examine the differences in the level of income and expenditure among chronically-ill people in Sri Lanka. Accordingly, the study discovered that married females who do not engage in any type of economic activity (being unemployed due to the disability associated with the respective chronic illness), in the age category of 40-65, having an educational level of tertiary education or below and living in the urban sector have a higher likelihood of suffering from chronic diseases. If workforce population is compelled to lose jobs, it can lead to income insecurity and impair their quality of lives. Under above findings, it is reasonable to assume that most health care expenses are out of pocket. Furthermore, the study infers that chronic illnesses have a statistically proven significant differences towards the income and expenditure level. This has caused due to the interaction of demographic and socio-economic characteristics associated with chronic illnesses. Considering private-public sector partnerships that enable affordable access to health care services for all as well as implementation of commercial insurance and community-based mutual services that help ease burden to the public, are vital when formulating effective policies and strategies related to the healthcare sector. Sri Lanka is making strong efforts to support its healthcare sector and public, which was affected by the coronavirus (COVID-19) in early 2020. Therefore, findings of this paper will be useful to gain insights on the differences of chronic illnesses towards the income and expenditure of chronically-ill patients in Sri Lanka.

Do chronic illnesses and poverty go hand in hand?

In the global context, the health and quality of life of people are adversely affected by either one or more types of chronic diseases. The chronic pain associated with diagnosed patients may include heavy medical expenditure along with the physical and mental suffering they undergo. Usually, unbearable amounts of medical expenses are incurred, to improve or sustain the health condition of the patient. Consequently, the heavy financial burden tends to push households from a comfortable or secure life, or even from bad to worse, towards the probability of becoming poor. Hence, this study is conducted to identify the impact chronic illnesses have on poverty using data from a national survey referred as the Household Income and Expenditure Survey (HIES), with data gathered by the Department of Census and Statistics (DCS) of Sri Lanka in 2016. As such, this study is the first of its kind in Sri Lanka, declaring the originality of the study based on data collected from the local arena. Accordingly, the study discovered that married females who do not engage in any type of economic activity, in the age category of 40-65, having an educational level of tertiary level or below and living in the urban sector have a higher likelihood of suffering from chronic diseases. Moreover, it was inferred that, if a person is deprived from access to basic education in the level of education, lives in the rural or estate sector, or suffers from a brain disease, cancer, heart disease or kidney disease, he is highly likely to be poor. Some insights concluded from this Sri Lankan case study can also be applied in the context of other developing countries, to minimise chronic illnesses and thereby the probability of falling into poverty.

Challenges in Accessing Health Care for People with Disability in the South Asian Context: A Review

South Asia is a unique geopolitical region covering 3.4% of the world’s surface area and supporting 25% of the world’s population (1.75 billion). Available evidence from South Asia shows variable estimates of the magnitude of disability. The projected magnitude depends on whether an impairment focus is highlighted (approximately 1.6–2.1%) or functionality is given precedence (3.6–15.6%). People with disability (PWD) face significant challenges to accessing health care in the region. Studies show that adults with disability reported a four times higher incidence of a serious health problem in a year’s recall period. Evidence shows a significantly higher rate (17.8%) of hospitalization among PWD compared to others (5%). Chronic conditions like diabetes were also significantly higher. Women with disability had significantly more concerns on reproductive health issues. Studies from the South Asia region reveal that not only did PWD have a higher load of adverse health outcomes but they also faced significantly more barriers in accessing health services.