Economic burden of the therapeutic management of mental illnesses and its effect on household purchasing power.

Cost or burden of illness studies for mental illnesses has helped define the magnitude of their negative effects on the household, community and national economy. Despite its many benefits, there is a paucity of these studies among Nigerians being managed for mental illnesses. This study was aimed at assessing the economic burden of mental illnesses and its effect on household purchasing power. The study was descriptive cross-sectional in design conducted among 284 out-patients with five categories of mental illnesses at the Neuropsychiatric Hospital, Aro recruited via a systematic sampling technique. Data collection was quantitative using a semi-structured interviewer-administered tool. Participants provided the actual direct costs and estimates of indirect costs incurred during their most recent inpatient admission and their first clinic visit after discharge. Parametric and non-parametric statistical tests were conducted on the direct and estimated indirect costs respectively after testing them for normality using the Q-Q plot with statistical significance determined at p<0.05. Almost 96% of respondents finance their healthcare costs by themselves or their family with >50% earning