Catastrophic Health Expenditure in Iran: A Review Article

Background: One of the main challenges of healthcare systems is to protect people from consequences of health expenditures. Such expenditures may lead to catastrophic financial loss in families so that many people deny demanding necessary healthcare services, which results in harms to their health s...

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Main Authors: Aidin ARYANKHESAL, Manal ETEMADI, Mohammad MOHSENI, Saber AZAMI-AGHDASH, Majid NAKHAEI
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Tehran University of Medical Sciences 2018-02-01
Series:Iranian Journal of Public Health
Subjects:
Online Access:https://ijph.tums.ac.ir/index.php/ijph/article/view/12400
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author Aidin ARYANKHESAL
Manal ETEMADI
Mohammad MOHSENI
Saber AZAMI-AGHDASH
Majid NAKHAEI
author_facet Aidin ARYANKHESAL
Manal ETEMADI
Mohammad MOHSENI
Saber AZAMI-AGHDASH
Majid NAKHAEI
author_sort Aidin ARYANKHESAL
collection DOAJ
description Background: One of the main challenges of healthcare systems is to protect people from consequences of health expenditures. Such expenditures may lead to catastrophic financial loss in families so that many people deny demanding necessary healthcare services, which results in harms to their health status. The aim of this systematic review was to investigate the catastrophic health expenditures trend and its related factors in Iran. Methods: This systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted on studies conducted between 1984 and 2014. Data were collected through searching electronic databases and searching engines of PubMed, Scopus, EconLit, Google Scholar, Science Direct, MagIran, and Scientific Information Database (SID). The random effects were used with 95% confidence interval for the meta-analysis. Results: Out of 561 initially retrieved articles, finally 42 were included in the final analysis. The studies were conducted between 1984 and 2014. The overall proportion of exposure to catastrophic health expenditure in Iran was 7.5% (95% CI, 6.2 – 9.1). In the urban and rural areas, the proportion was 2.3% (95% CI, 1.8 – 2.9) and 3.4% (95% CI, 2.8 – 4.1) respectively. The overall proportion of exposure to the catastrophic health expenditure in hospitals was 35.9% (95% CI, 23.5 – 54.3). Conclusion: The catastrophic expenditures proportion of healthcare is relatively high in Iran and the government is expected to adopt effective measures in this regard, especially for the inpatient care. There are needs for special supporting policies for the financial protection of specific patients, the poor and villagers.
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spelling doaj.art-96134417505b46029d5cc0ef050a34de2022-12-21T19:58:38ZengTehran University of Medical SciencesIranian Journal of Public Health2251-60852251-60932018-02-01472Catastrophic Health Expenditure in Iran: A Review ArticleAidin ARYANKHESAL0Manal ETEMADI1Mohammad MOHSENI2Saber AZAMI-AGHDASH3Majid NAKHAEI4Dept. of Health Services Management, School of Health Management and Information Sciences, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, IranDept. of Health Services Management, School of Health Management and Information Sciences, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, IranHealth Management and Economics Research Center, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, IranIranian Center of Excellence in Health Management, School of Management and Medical Informatics, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, IranHealth Services Management Research Center, Institute for Futures Studies in Health, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, IranBackground: One of the main challenges of healthcare systems is to protect people from consequences of health expenditures. Such expenditures may lead to catastrophic financial loss in families so that many people deny demanding necessary healthcare services, which results in harms to their health status. The aim of this systematic review was to investigate the catastrophic health expenditures trend and its related factors in Iran. Methods: This systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted on studies conducted between 1984 and 2014. Data were collected through searching electronic databases and searching engines of PubMed, Scopus, EconLit, Google Scholar, Science Direct, MagIran, and Scientific Information Database (SID). The random effects were used with 95% confidence interval for the meta-analysis. Results: Out of 561 initially retrieved articles, finally 42 were included in the final analysis. The studies were conducted between 1984 and 2014. The overall proportion of exposure to catastrophic health expenditure in Iran was 7.5% (95% CI, 6.2 – 9.1). In the urban and rural areas, the proportion was 2.3% (95% CI, 1.8 – 2.9) and 3.4% (95% CI, 2.8 – 4.1) respectively. The overall proportion of exposure to the catastrophic health expenditure in hospitals was 35.9% (95% CI, 23.5 – 54.3). Conclusion: The catastrophic expenditures proportion of healthcare is relatively high in Iran and the government is expected to adopt effective measures in this regard, especially for the inpatient care. There are needs for special supporting policies for the financial protection of specific patients, the poor and villagers.https://ijph.tums.ac.ir/index.php/ijph/article/view/12400Catastrophic paymentsHealth economicsFinancially vulnerable peopleIran
spellingShingle Aidin ARYANKHESAL
Manal ETEMADI
Mohammad MOHSENI
Saber AZAMI-AGHDASH
Majid NAKHAEI
Catastrophic Health Expenditure in Iran: A Review Article
Iranian Journal of Public Health
Catastrophic payments
Health economics
Financially vulnerable people
Iran
title Catastrophic Health Expenditure in Iran: A Review Article
title_full Catastrophic Health Expenditure in Iran: A Review Article
title_fullStr Catastrophic Health Expenditure in Iran: A Review Article
title_full_unstemmed Catastrophic Health Expenditure in Iran: A Review Article
title_short Catastrophic Health Expenditure in Iran: A Review Article
title_sort catastrophic health expenditure in iran a review article
topic Catastrophic payments
Health economics
Financially vulnerable people
Iran
url https://ijph.tums.ac.ir/index.php/ijph/article/view/12400
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