Drug treatment costs: projected impact of using the integrated management of childhood illnesses

Abstract

The strategy of integrated management of childhood illness (IMCI) aims at improving the skills of first level health workers and consequently, improving the survival chances of children. The guidelines have been shown to be cost-effective. We aimed to determine the potential impact of using IMCI guidelines on drug treatment cost. The cost of drugs prescribed for 129 sick children, by first level health workers, who were managed at three primary health facilities in Sabon Gari Local Government Area of Kaduna State, was calculated. The corresponding cost using the IMCI guidelines was also calculated. There were 74 males and 55 females (M:F=1.3:1). An average of 4.5 drugs per patient were prescribed by the health workers compared to 2.3 drugs per patient when using the IMCI guidelines. The total cost of drugs prescribed by the health workers was N15,279.39 with an average of N118.44 per child. The corresponding costs had the IMCI guidelines been used were N3,062.53 and N23.73, respectively. Treatment cost using the traditional method was 4.98 times more expensive than using methods advocated by the IMCI guidelines. The projected cost savings related to drugs when using IMCI guidelines were based on the assumption that inappropriate drugs would not be prescribed by health workers once they are introduced to and started using the IMCI guidelines.