Out-of-pocket expenditures for HIV in the Dominican Republic: findings from a community-based participatory survey

State of HIV costing in Latin America and the Caribbean: a systematic literature review

Objectives

To summarize available data on unit costs for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) testing, prevention, and care interventions in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Methods

We conducted a systematic literature review of costing studies published between 2012 and 2024, and selected those reporting empirically measured costing data. The available data were categorized according to predefined intervention categories and compared by time and place. We also explored variations in unit costs by intervention type.

Results

Of 1 746 studies identified, 22 met the inclusion criteria, which provided 103 unique unit cost estimates from nine countries. About 50% of the included studies were published between 2019 and 2021. Antiretroviral therapy services had the most cost data available (39% of unit costs), followed by inpatient care (27%) and HIV testing (24%). Considerable cost variations were observed both within and between interventions.

Conclusions

Our analysis underscores the need for accurate and reliable cost data to support HIV budgeting and decision-making efforts. We identified several gaps in the availability of cost data and emphasize the importance of presenting results more effectively by incorporating key contextual variables. Given the challenges of shrinking budgets and sustainability risks, robust evidence is indispensable to inform priority setting and budget allocation for HIV services.

Assessing the Relationship Between HIV Quality of Care and Treatment Literacy on ART Adherence and Viral Suppression Among Female Sex Workers Living in the Dominican Republic

This study assessed the relationship between the quality of HIV care and treatment literacy on antiretroviral therapy (ART) adherence and viral suppression among female sex workers (FSWs) living with HIV (n = 211) in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Multivariable logistic regression results indicate better patient-provider communication (AOR 1.04; 95% CI 1.01-1.07) and respectful treatment (AOR 2.17; 95% CI 1.09-4.32) increase the odds of viral suppression, while higher costs reduce both the odds of ART adherence (AOR 0.57, 95% CI 0.34- 0.95) and being virally suppressed (AOR 0.59, 95% CI 0.41-0.85). Greater treatment literacy was associated with an increased odds of ART adherence (AOR 4.15 for understanding of viral load; 95% CI 1.50-11.52) and viral suppression (AOR 2.75 for understanding of CD4 count; 95% CI 1.31-5.80). Findings support investments in treatment education, effective and respectful patient-provider communication, dignified care, and cost-support for associated HIV care costs to facilitate FSWs' pathway towards viral suppression.

How were situations of preventive and curative care expenditure for AIDS and medical burden of patients? Research based on "System of Health Accounts 2011"

BACKGROUND

The problem of AIDS response has not only involved public health, but also had a great impact on the family burden.The objective of this study was to estimate the preventive and curative care expenditure(PCE)for AIDS of Hunan Province in 2017 based on System of Health Accounts 2011(SHA2011)by quantity,financing scheme,health provider,health function,and to analyses the factors affecting patients' medical burden.

METHODS

Through stratified multi-stage sampling method, 1336 institutions were surveyed to obtain AIDS prevention and control data, and the official data collected from Health Statistical Yearbook, Health Financial Annual Reports and Government Input Monitoring System were used to estimate the AIDS PCE based on SHA2011. Univariate analyses and ordered logistic regression were used to evaluate the factors affecting the medical burden of AIDS patients.

RESULTS

The AIDS PCE of Hunan Province in 2017 was 266.67 million, mainly flowed to hospitals and disease prevention and control institutions. The proportions of curative care expenditure(CCE) and prevention expenditure were 51.39 and 48.61% respectively. Prevention expenditure were mainly used for traditional prevention methods. All prevention expenditure and 88.52% of CCE were borne by public financing scheme. Family health expenditure accounted for 11.12% of CCE, but there were still some people with heavy burden of treatment. Non insurance, co-infection and length of stay are risk factors to the total hospitalization expenses(Totalexp)and the out-of-pocket payments(OOPs)(all p < 0.05,OR > 1). Taking the age group under 30 as the reference, the partial regression coefficient of the age group over 60 was statistically significant (OR (Totalexp) = 1.809, OR (OOPs) = 0.30).

CONCLUSION

The financing structure of the PCE for AIDS in Hunan Province was relatively stable and the flow of institutions was reasonable. The functional flow of expenditure embodied the principle of "prevention first". China should incorporate oral PrEP into the national guidelines as soon as possible to improve the allocation efficiency of AIDS prevention resources. Meantime, several measures should be taken to reduce the medical burden of AIDS patients, including expanding the scope of government assistance, adjusting insurance compensation measures, increasing the rate of patients participating in insurance,encouraging commercial insurance to join the AIDS insurance system,and controlling length of stay in hospital.