Resumen

Costs of home-based care for the family. Rev Cubana Salud Pública [online]. 2008, vol.34, n.2. ISSN 0864-3466.

Introduction Home care as an alternative for primary health care is advantageous in terms of quality of service and governmental resource utilization, but it also represents an expenditure for the family. Objectives To estimate and to characterize the costs of home care for patients in different geographic areas. Methods Data on patients under home care conditions from July 2002 to June 2003 in different areas located in Playa municipality, Cruces municipality, Union de Reyes municipality and Fomento municipality were analyzed. Expenditures per patient, per stay day and per most frequent causes of home care were estimated and given in Cuban domestic currency and in foreign currency. Results Eighty percent or more of the families faced some extra expenditure. Food represented the highest cost in urban areas whereas drugs were the main line of expenditure in rural areas. Transportation cost was an important aspect in the rural setting. The median of expenditure per patient ranged from 109.17 to 31.75 Cuban pesos. Expenditure per stay day ranged from 16. 79 to 3.14 Cuban pesos. Foreign currency cost was not significant. Conclusions Home care is an additional economic burden for the family, particularly in the metropolitan urban setting. Cost-effectiveness of the prescribed therapeutic schemes as well as availability of diagnostic means in the health area should be in-depth analyzed

Palabras clave : Expenditure; home care.