ArticleBMJ public health2025
Catastrophic expenditure associated with childhood hospitalisation for acute illness in Kenya and Uganda: a cross-sectional study.
Article in BMJ public health, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed.
- Economic burden of typhoid among hospitalised children in Kenya.BMJ global health · 2026Article
- Financial burden of severe childhood illness on households in Lao People's Democratic Republic: A prospective cohort study.PLOS global public health · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
24 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Introduction: Childhood illness and hospitalisation result in both direct and indirect costs to families before, during and after admission. We aimed to estimate the catastrophic expenditure during hospitalisation for children with acute illness. Methods: This was a prespecified cross-sectional substudy nested within two prospective studies. Participants were recruited and interviewed from three rural and three urban hospitals in Kenya and Uganda. A costing questionnaire was administered to the caregivers of 731 children hospitalised for acute illness to evaluate direct and indirect costs incurred by caregivers and families. Costs incurred were compared for families with children both with and without complicated severe malnutrition (CSM). Catastrophic out-of-pocket expenditure exceeding 10% and 25% of monthly income was assessed. Results: The median (IQR) total cost during hospitalisation per child was US$47 (US$24-US$84), with higher costs for children with CSM, especially during hospitalisation (US$56 (US$26-US$99) vs US$36 (US$20-US$65); p<0.001). During hospitalisation, bed charges followed by food were the main cost drivers. Caregivers reported losing a median of 7 (4-11) days of productive time during a child's hospitalisation with a mean loss of income of US$10 (SD US$25.6, median US$0 (US$0-US$10)). 92% and 74% of households experienced catastrophic expenditure at thresholds of 10% and 25% of monthly income, respectively. Caregivers reported borrowing, selling property and withdrawing other children from school to cope with costs. Conclusions: Despite intentions of free healthcare services for under 5, families of acutely ill children very commonly faced catastrophic expenditure, especially for children with CSM. Interventions aimed at supporting financial protection, reducing additional healthcare costs, and lowering health service charges may help prevent catastrophic expenditures.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.