ABSTRACT
Background: Ayushman Bharat-Pradhan Mantri Jan Aarogya Yojna (AB-PMJAY) as a financial risk protection scheme intends to reduce catastrophic health expenditure (CHE), especially among poor. The current study was carried out to assess the utility of AB-PMJAY in terms of reduction in CHE from before and after admission in a tertiary hospital in the northern state of India. Methodology: It was a hospital-based cross-sectional study carried out from August 2020 to October 2021 at a public tertiary hospital of Himachal Pradesh, India. Data were collected from surgery- and medicine-allied (SA and MA) specialties. Along with socio-demographic details, information for total monthly family expenditure (TMFE), out-of-pocket expenditure (OOPE), and indirect illness-related expenditure (IIE) was recorded before and after hospital admission. CHE was considered as more than 10.0% OOPE of THFE and more than 40.0% of capacity to pay (CTP). Results: A total of 336 participants with a mean age of 46 years were recruited (MA: 54.6%). The majority (~93.0%) of participants had illness of fewer than 6 months. The mean TMFE was observed to be INR 4213.1 (standard deviation: 2483.7) and found to be similar across specialties. The OOPE share of TMFE declined from 76.1% (before admission) to 30.0% (after admission). Before admission, CHE was found among 65.5% (10.0% of THFE) and 54.2% (40.0% of CTP) participants. It reduced to about 29.0% (based on both THE and CTP) after admission to hospital. Conclusion: AB-PMJAY scheme found to be useful in reducing CHE in a tertiary hospital.
ABSTRACT
Introduction: Current study was carried out as per the government of India and Himachal Pradesh guidelines to carry out a serosurvey to assess the extent of COVID-19 infection among health care professionals (HCPs) after 6 months of managing COVID-19 cases. Methods: A hospital-based survey was carried out among 1279 conveniently selected HCPs from September 2020 to January 2021. Results: The participants had a mean age of 38.3 (±10.4) years, and almost half (47.4%) were ≤35 years of age. A total of 29 (2.3%) were already tested positive for COVID-19 (RT-PCR: 22; Rapid Antigen Test: 7) before the survey, and the overall prevalence of IgG antibody was 12.7% among the participants (Male: 12.8%; Females: 12.5%). The odds were observed significantly high among administrative staff (aOR: 5.09; 95%CI: 1.27-20.33) and participants tested positive of COVID-19 previously (aOR: 28.41; 95%CI: 11.71-69.00). Conclusion: HCPs were tested about 6 months after the initiation of the COVID-19 pandemic in the state and demonstrated a high and expected level of seroprevalence.
