Examining socio-economic determinants of catastrophic health expenditure among low-income households in Uganda (Case Study: Wanyange Hill Suburb)

Abstract

Medical access health services are reportedly hampered by high treatment costs, which also endangers the well-being of the home. The majority of health spending in Uganda is made up of these payments. The purpose of this study was to examine the socio-economic factors that influence household catastrophic health expenditure (CHE). The study's specific goal was to look into how these factors contribute to the CHE in the family. A total of 180 households in Wanyange Hill suburb were used as a sample for the analysis. Proportions and percentages were used to depict the respondents' baseline characteristics and also looked at the variables influencing CHE using binary logistic regression. The findings indicated that the costs of medicine accounted for 46.39% of the household expenditure on health. The existence of persons over 65 years of age in the household is significant with CHE at 95% level of confidence (p-value 0.032) and the households on average are 3.3 times more likely than those without anyone above 65 years of age. The marital status of the household head is also statistically significant with CHE at 5% level of significance (p-value 0.025). Additionally, households with 3 to 5 members have a statistical significance with CHE at 95% level of confidence (p-value 0.003). The income status of the household heads among households with very unstable income status has a significant impact on CHE at a 5% significance level (p-values 0.033). The distance to the health facility has statistical significance with CHE at 5% level of significance (p-value 0.042, 0.018, and 0.000) for 3 to 5kms, 5 to 8kms, and 8kms or more to the health facility respectively. According to the results, household CHE is influenced by demographic, socio-economic, and facility-related characteristics. Particularly, the number of adults over 65 living in the suburb the level of income generation in a home, the size of the household, and the distance to the nearest medical facility all have a big impact on household CHE. Therefore, it is necessary to make an effort and provide well trained health workers, and equip the health facility with functioning equipments. The amount of unnecessary spending on health that is spent on transportation costs and other costs should be considerably reduced if stakeholders offer transportation to health facilities close to people.