José F. Robles-Díaz, Departamento de Radioterapia, Instituto Regional de Enfermedades Neoplásicas del Centro, Concepción, Junín, Perú
Background: Every person without work due to cancer constitutes an economic loss for society. The most notable measures to quantify is the cost of productivity. Objective: To know the indirect expenses for irradiation treatment in cervical cancer and whether these are associated or related to clinical, social and economic factors. Method: Clinical, social and economic data were collected prospectively. Association and correlation tests were used, such as the Mann-Whitney U/Kruskal-Wallis tests and Spearman’s rho. Result: One hundred forty-nine patients were collected, with the median distribution of weekly indirect spending in US dollars for patient and family of $74.47 and $61.05, respectively. The accumulated weekly indirect expenditure is negatively correlated with the age of the patient and the age of the companion, associated with the male sex of the companion. The clinical stage is associated when the expense is calculated for the hours involved in the companion’s care at home. Conclusions: The indirect expense for treatment is high and considerable when compared with the average monthly income. This weekly expense increases when the companion is male, the age of the patient or companion is less than 65 and 45 years, respectively.
Keywords: Cervical neoplasms. Financial support. Healthcare financing. Costs and cost analysis.
