Health, wealth, and medical expenditures among the elderly in rural Tanzania: experiences from Nzega and Igunga districts

BMC Health Services Research

Research

Angwara D. Kiwara¹  Mughwira A. Mwangu¹  Malale M. Tungu¹  Phares G. Mujinja¹  Paul J. Amani²  Lars Lindholm³ 

[1] Department of Development Studies, School of Public Health and Social Sciences, Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences, Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania;Department of Health Systems Management, School of Public Administration and Management, Mzumbe University, Morogoro, Tanzania;Epidemiology and Global Health, Umeå International School of Public Health, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden;

关键词: Health expenditure;    Wealth index;    QoL;    EQ-5D;    Elderly;    Tanzania;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12913-023-09943-1

 received in 2022-07-06, accepted in 2023-08-21,  发布年份 2023

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundThe per capita health expenditure (HE) and share of gross domestic product (GDP) spending on elderly healthcare are expected to increase. The gap between health needs and available resources for elderly healthcare is widening in many developing countries, like Tanzania, leaving the elderly in poor health. These conditions lead to catastrophic HEs for the elderly. This study aimed to analyse the association between measures of health, wealth, and medical expenditure in rural residents aged 60 years and above in Tanzania.MethodsThe data of this study were collected through a cross-sectional household survey to residents aged 60 years and above living in Nzega and Igunga districts using a standardised World Health Organization (WHO) Study on Global Ageing and Adult Health (SAGE) and European Quality of Life Five Dimension (EQ-5D) questionnaires. The quality of life (QoL) was estimated using EQ-5D weights. The wealth index was generated from principal component analysis (PCA). The linear regression analyses (outpatient/inpatient) were performed to analyse the association between measures of health, wealth, medical expenditure, and socio-demographic variables.ResultsThis study found a negative and statistically significant association between QoL and HE, whereby HE increases with the decrease of QoL. We could not find any significant relationship between HE and social gradients. In addition, age influences HE such that as age increases, the HE for both outpatient and inpatient care also increases.ConclusionThe health system in these districts allocate resources mainly according to needs, and social position is not important. We thus conclude that the elderly of lower socio-economic status (SES) was subjected to similar health expenditure as those of higher socio-economic status. Health, not wealth, determines the use of medical expenditures.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© BioMed Central Ltd., part of Springer Nature 2023

【 图 表 】

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