Background
Co-payment
for methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) services is a strategy to ensure the
financial sustainability of the HIV/AIDS programs in Vietnam. In this study, we
examined health services utilization and expenditure among MMT patients, and
further explored factors associated with catastrophic health expenditure among
affected households.
Methods
A
multi-site cross-sectional study was conducted among 1,016 patients in two
epicentres: Hanoi and Nam Dinh province in 2013.
Results
Overall,
8.2% and 28.7% respondents used inpatient and outpatient health care services
in the past 12 months apart from receiving MMT. There were 12.8% respondents
experiencing catastrophic health expenditure given MMT is provided
free-of-charge, otherwise 63.5% patients would suffer from health care costs.
MMT integrated with general health or HIV services may encourage health care
services utilization of patients. Patients, who were single, lived in the
rural, had inpatient care and reported problems in Mobility were more likely to
experience catastrophic health expenditure than other patient groups.
Conclusions
The
health care costs are still financially burden to many drug users and remained
over the course of MMT that implies the necessity of continuous supports from
the program. Scaling-up and decentralizing integrated MMT clinics together with
economic empowerments for treated drug users and their families should be
prioritized in Vietnam.
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By:
Affiliations
Institute for Preventive Medicine and Public Health, Hanoi
Medical University, Hanoi, Vietnam
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore,
Maryland, United States of America
Correspondence
Corresponding author.at: Lecturer in Health Economics Hanoi
Medical University, Vietnam Bloomberg School of Public Health Johns Hopkins
University, USA. +84-982228662.
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