Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2017 Sep 11;36(1):33.
doi: 10.1186/s41043-017-0110-4.

Out-of-pocket expenditure for seeking health care for sick children younger than 5 years of age in Bangladesh: findings from cross-sectional surveys, 2009 and 2012

Tazeen Tahsina  1 , Nazia Binte Ali  2 , D M Emdadul Hoque  2 , Tanvir M Huda  2 , Shumona Sharmin Salam  2 , Mohammad Mehedi Hasan  2 , Md Altaf Hossain  3 , Ziaul Matin  4 , Lianne Kuppen  4 , Sarah P Garnett  5 , Shams El Arifeen  2
Affiliations

Out-of-pocket expenditure for seeking health care for sick children younger than 5 years of age in Bangladesh: findings from cross-sectional surveys, 2009 and 2012

Tazeen Tahsina et al. J Health Popul Nutr. .

Abstract

Background: Bangladesh has committed to universal health coverage, and options to decrease household out-of-pocket expenditure (OPE) are being explored. Understanding the determinants of OPE is an essential step. This study aimed to estimate and identify determinants of OPE in seeking health care for sick under-five children.

Methods: Cross-sectional data was collected by structured questionnaire in 2009 (n = 7362) and 2012 (n = 6896) from mothers of the under-five children. OPE included consultation fees and costs of medicine, diagnostic tests, hospital admission, transport, accommodation, and food. Expenditure is expressed in US dollars and adjusted for inflation. Linear regression was used for ascertaining the determinants of OPE.

Results: Between 2009 and 2012, the median OPE for seeking care for a sick under-five child increased by ~ 50%, from USD 0.82 (interquartile range 0.39-1.49) to USD 1.22 (0.63-2.36) per child/visit. Increases were observed in every component OPE measured, except for consultation fees which decreased by 12%. Medicine contributed the major portion of overall OPE. Higher overall OPE for care seeking was associated with a priority illness (20% increase), care from trained providers (90% public/~ 2-fold private), residing in hilly/wet lands areas (20%), and for mothers with a secondary education (19%).

Conclusion: OPE is a major barrier to quality health care services and access to appropriate medicine is increasing in rural Bangladesh. To support the goal of universal health care coverage, geographic imbalances as well as expanded health financing options need to be explored.

Keywords: Bangladesh; Childhood illnesses; Health care-seeking; Out-of-pocket expenditure; Under-five children.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Ethics approval and consent to participate

Ethical approval was obtained from the internal review board of icddr,b. Written consents were taken from all participants.

Competing interests

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Publisher’s Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

References

    1. Liu L, Oza S, Hogan D, et al. Global, regional, and national causes of child mortality in 2000–13, with projections to inform post-2015 priorities: an updated systematic analysis. Lancet. 2015;385(9966):430–440. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(14)61698-6. - DOI - PubMed
    1. National Institute of Population Research and Training (NIPORT), Mitra and Associates, and ICF International. Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey 2014: Key Indicators. Dhaka, Bangladesh, and Rockville, Maryland, USA: NIPORT, Mitra and Associates, and ICF International. 2015.
    1. World Health Organization. Global Health Estimates: 2014. World Health Organization. 2014.
    1. Rehman A, Shaikh BT, Ronis KA. Health care seeking patterns and out of pocket payments for children under five years of age living in Katchi Abadis (slums), in Islamabad, Pakistan. Int J Equity Health. 2014;13(1):30. doi: 10.1186/1475-9276-13-30. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Chandrasiri J, Anurango C, Wickramasinghe R. The impact of out-of-pocket expenditures on poverty and inequalities in use of maternal and child health services in Bangladesh: evidence from the household income and expenditure surveys 2000–2010. Asian Development Bank: Manila; 2010.

Publication types