ABSTRACT
Background: Pandemic has affected people physically, mentally and economically. India being a growing economic power house, spends only around 1.2% of GDP on health which thereby leads to high OOP spending. This study aims to estimate out of pocket health expenditure and proportion of financial risk protection. Methods: Cross sectional study conducted among Covid-19 affected individuals in Chennai. It was a questionnaire-based study with questions about covid-19 management status, cost and insurance utili-zation. Descriptive statistics and regression analysis was used for analysis. Results: Total of 47 were treated at hospital and 85% of them were treated at private hospital. The mean cost investigations for patients treated at hospital was of Rs. 50000+11547 and for medicines was Rs. 110000+57735. 53% of study participants had health insurance. 29 (54.72%) of them had Covid-19 treatment cost covered under insurance. The multiple regression analysis showed a statistically signifi-cant association between total OOPE incurred and age, religion and socio-economic status. Conclusion: Majority of participants spent for their treatment through savings and borrowing money. OOPE was compensated by reimbursement through health insurance. Provision of quality health care in government hospitals, increase public health spending and creating awareness about health insurance are ways to reduce OOP costs.
ABSTRACT
Background: There is growing evidence that patient care is affected by increasing psychological problems among healthcare workers all around the world. This study was conducted to estimate the prevalence of psychological problems among health care workers in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. Methodology: A cross-sectional study conducted over a period of 6 months. A structured questionnaire that included the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) and Cohen抯 Perceived stress scale were used. Analysis was done using SPSS 21.0 software. Frequency was expressed in percentage and association with factors was tested for significance using Chi square test. p Value <0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: Among the participants, nurses had the highest scores for psychological problems, followed by doctors and other staffs. According to PHQ-9, 32.4% of participants were found to have depression and 9% of participants had suicidal intentions, 20.3% reported high stress levels and about 70.02% reported moderate stress levels. Conclusion: Compared to senior and experienced faculty, the junior and young faculty had higher proportions of stress, depression. It was found that lower recreational activities, experiencing abuse either verbal or physical from patients/caregivers/senior staff, lack of empathy among co-workers showed higher association with psychological problems among the health care workers.