Background: Rheumatic heart disease (RHD) has declined dramatically in wealthier countries in the past three decades, but it remains endemic in many lower-resourced regions and can have significant costs to households. The objective of this study was to quantify the economic burden of RHD among Ugandans affected by RHD. Methods: This was a cross-sectional cost-of-illness study that randomly sampled 87 participants and their households from the Uganda National RHD registry between December 2018 and February 2020. Using a standardized survey instrument, we asked participants and household members about outpatient and inpatient RHD costs and financial coping mechanisms incurred over the past 12 months. We used descriptive statistics to analyze levels and distributions of costs and the frequency of coping strategies. Multivariate Poisson regression models were used to assess relationships between socioeconomic characteristics and utilization of financial coping mechanisms. Results: Most pa
Examining the Ugandan health system’s readiness to deliver rheumatic heart disease-related services
Emma Ndagire, Roles Formal analysis, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing
Affiliations Uganda Heart Institute, Kampala, Uganda, Children’s National Hospital, Division of Cardiology, Washington, District of Columbia, United States of America ⨯
Yoshito Kawakatsu,
Affiliation Department of Global Health, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, United States of America
Affiliation Uganda Heart Institute, Kampala, Uganda
Affiliation Uganda Heart Institute, Kampala, Uganda Roles Formal analysis, Writing – review & editing
Affiliation Children’s National Hospital, Division of Cardiology, Washington, District of Columbia, United States of America ⨯
Jafesi Pulle,
Affiliation Uganda Heart Institute, Kampala, Uganda