[An outline of a method for estimating the calculated economic cost of malaria cases: its application to a rural area in Burkina Faso (Western Africa)].
A precise method to estimate the cost of malaria in a rural area was developed and applied in 3 villages in Burkina Faso. The estimate takes into account direct costs such as consultation fees, microscopic examinations, medication and transport as well as indirect costs caused by lost work-days. The formula uses 6 variables: age of subject, degree of invalidity, duration of illness, profession, income and percentage of income lost. In the region of Bobo-Dioulasso, 3065 health centre clients were registered in the course of the study: 17% had been clinically diagnosed as having malaria but this was confirmed microscopically in only 11.6% of cases; 73.1% were children aged < 5 years, 13.9% children aged 6-15 years, 12.2% adults aged 16-50 years and 0.8% adults aged > 50 years. Most patients worked in agriculture and trade. The average duration of illness was 4 days, with each case incurring a cost of $11.7 comprised of $8 direct costs and $3.7 indirect costs.
Guiguemdé
T R
TR
Centre Muraz, Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso.
Coulibaly
N
N
Coulibaly
S O
SO
Ouedraogo
J B
JB
Gbary
A R
AR
D000041:Absenteeism; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000382:Agricultural Workers' Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000191:economics; D002050:Burkina Faso; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003365:Costs and Cost Analysis; D004180:Direct Service Costs; D006801:Humans; D007182:Income; D007223:Infant; D008288:Malaria / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000191:economics*; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012424:Rural Population; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors