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Economic burden, impoverishment and coping mechanisms associated with out-of-pocket health expenditure: analysis of rural-urban differentials in India

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Abstract

Aim

This article aimed to study the burden, impact and coping mechanisms associated with out-of-pocket (OOP) health expenditure in rural and urban areas in India.

Methods

National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO) data on ‘Health and Morbidity’ gathered in 2004 and 2014 were employed to measure the catastrophic burden, impoverishment impact and various coping strategies associated with out-of-pocket health in India.

Results

Results revealed that over the study period, considerable rural-urban differentials existed in the economic burden and impact of out-of-pocket health expenditure. As a coping strategy, borrowing and other distress sources were used in higher proportions by the rural population than their urban counterparts. Overall, our results demonstrated an alarming situation regarding health care financing in India.

Conclusion

Substantial investment in public health is needed, especially in rural areas as it is here that people are facing the real brunt of catastrophic OOP health expenditures in the form of impoverishment with more dependence on distress sources including borrowing and sale of assets as coping mechanisms.

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Funding

This research received no grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology, Kamand, Mandi, HP, 175005, India

    Shivendra Sangar, Varun Dutt & Ramna Thakur

Authors
  1. Shivendra Sangar
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  2. Varun Dutt
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  3. Ramna Thakur
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Correspondence to Ramna Thakur.

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The study used a data set that is available online in the public domain; hence, there was no need to seek ethical consent to publish this study.

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This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by the author.

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Sangar, S., Dutt, V. & Thakur, R. Economic burden, impoverishment and coping mechanisms associated with out-of-pocket health expenditure: analysis of rural-urban differentials in India. J Public Health (Berl.) 26, 485–494 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10389-018-0904-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10389-018-0904-x

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