Study of the Intangible Costs and the Impact of the Household Component in the Social Cost of Tuberculosis

Abstract

Tuberculosis (TB) is a major public health problem in the world. Argentina has a high rate of incidence of 30 cases per 100,000 inhabitants. There is information about direct costs of TB but little is known about its social costs. objectives: To explore the relationship between perception of disease and intangible costs; and to measure the impact of the household component on the social cost of the disease in the Metropolitan Area of Buenos Aires. Methods: quali-quantitative, descriptive study of the loss of quality of life and the TB social costs on a sample of 30 cases with TB living in Quilmes Party and 30 controls. The variables included were intangible costs or loss of quality of life assessed through the SF-36 survey, indirect or opportunity costs and direct costs of the disease health care. Results: for the loss of quality of life, so cases as controls, the average score was 39 points in the general issues of physics and mental health (scale 0 to 100). The social costs attributable to the disease reached a sum of AR$ 597.78 per case, with almost 38% paid from the household component. The estimated total country cost was AR$ 6.207.396.47 per year. Conclusions: In Argentina, TB is clearly associated to social-economy vulnerability. In poorest families, the disease strongly impacts on the family unit, worsening the already critic domestic economy.