The economic burden incurred by families caring for a young child with developmental disability in Uganda.

Each year, nearly 30 million children globally are at risk of developmental difficulties and disability as a result of newborn health conditions, with the majority living in resource-constrained countries. This study estimates the annual cost to families related to caring for a young child with deve...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Kenneth R Katumba, Cally J Tann, Emily L Webb, Patrick Tenywa, Margaret Nampijja, Janet Seeley, Giulia Greco
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2023-01-01
Series:PLOS Global Public Health
Online Access:https://journals.plos.org/globalpublichealth/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pgph.0000953&type=printable
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1850159940287594496
author Kenneth R Katumba
Cally J Tann
Emily L Webb
Patrick Tenywa
Margaret Nampijja
Janet Seeley
Giulia Greco
author_facet Kenneth R Katumba
Cally J Tann
Emily L Webb
Patrick Tenywa
Margaret Nampijja
Janet Seeley
Giulia Greco
author_sort Kenneth R Katumba
collection DOAJ
description Each year, nearly 30 million children globally are at risk of developmental difficulties and disability as a result of newborn health conditions, with the majority living in resource-constrained countries. This study estimates the annual cost to families related to caring for a young child with developmental disability in Uganda. Nested within a feasibility trial of early care and support for young children with developmental disabilities, this sub-study estimated the cost of illness, the cost of paternal abandonment of the caregiver and the affordability of care by household. Seventy-three caregivers took part in this sub-study. The average annual cost of illness to families was USD 949. The main cost drivers were the cost of seeking care and income lost due to loss of employment. Households caring for a child with a disability spent more than the national average household expenditure, and the annual cost of illness for all households was more than 100% of the national GDP per capita. In addition, 84% of caregivers faced economic consequences and resorted to wealth-reducing coping strategies. Families caring for a child with severe impairment incurred USD 358 more on average than those with mild or moderate impairment. Paternal abandonment was common (31%) with affected mothers losing an average of USD 430 in financial support. Caring for a young child with developmental disability was unaffordable to all the study households. Programmes of early care and support have the potential to reduce these financial impacts. National efforts to curb this catastrophic health expenditure are necessary.
format Article
id doaj-art-80b5190d6c804fb589e7953aeeed3e99
institution OA Journals
issn 2767-3375
language English
publishDate 2023-01-01
publisher Public Library of Science (PLoS)
record_format Article
series PLOS Global Public Health
spelling doaj-art-80b5190d6c804fb589e7953aeeed3e992025-08-20T02:23:19ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLOS Global Public Health2767-33752023-01-0134e000095310.1371/journal.pgph.0000953The economic burden incurred by families caring for a young child with developmental disability in Uganda.Kenneth R KatumbaCally J TannEmily L WebbPatrick TenywaMargaret NampijjaJanet SeeleyGiulia GrecoEach year, nearly 30 million children globally are at risk of developmental difficulties and disability as a result of newborn health conditions, with the majority living in resource-constrained countries. This study estimates the annual cost to families related to caring for a young child with developmental disability in Uganda. Nested within a feasibility trial of early care and support for young children with developmental disabilities, this sub-study estimated the cost of illness, the cost of paternal abandonment of the caregiver and the affordability of care by household. Seventy-three caregivers took part in this sub-study. The average annual cost of illness to families was USD 949. The main cost drivers were the cost of seeking care and income lost due to loss of employment. Households caring for a child with a disability spent more than the national average household expenditure, and the annual cost of illness for all households was more than 100% of the national GDP per capita. In addition, 84% of caregivers faced economic consequences and resorted to wealth-reducing coping strategies. Families caring for a child with severe impairment incurred USD 358 more on average than those with mild or moderate impairment. Paternal abandonment was common (31%) with affected mothers losing an average of USD 430 in financial support. Caring for a young child with developmental disability was unaffordable to all the study households. Programmes of early care and support have the potential to reduce these financial impacts. National efforts to curb this catastrophic health expenditure are necessary.https://journals.plos.org/globalpublichealth/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pgph.0000953&type=printable
spellingShingle Kenneth R Katumba
Cally J Tann
Emily L Webb
Patrick Tenywa
Margaret Nampijja
Janet Seeley
Giulia Greco
The economic burden incurred by families caring for a young child with developmental disability in Uganda.
PLOS Global Public Health
title The economic burden incurred by families caring for a young child with developmental disability in Uganda.
title_full The economic burden incurred by families caring for a young child with developmental disability in Uganda.
title_fullStr The economic burden incurred by families caring for a young child with developmental disability in Uganda.
title_full_unstemmed The economic burden incurred by families caring for a young child with developmental disability in Uganda.
title_short The economic burden incurred by families caring for a young child with developmental disability in Uganda.
title_sort economic burden incurred by families caring for a young child with developmental disability in uganda
url https://journals.plos.org/globalpublichealth/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pgph.0000953&type=printable
work_keys_str_mv AT kennethrkatumba theeconomicburdenincurredbyfamiliescaringforayoungchildwithdevelopmentaldisabilityinuganda
AT callyjtann theeconomicburdenincurredbyfamiliescaringforayoungchildwithdevelopmentaldisabilityinuganda
AT emilylwebb theeconomicburdenincurredbyfamiliescaringforayoungchildwithdevelopmentaldisabilityinuganda
AT patricktenywa theeconomicburdenincurredbyfamiliescaringforayoungchildwithdevelopmentaldisabilityinuganda
AT margaretnampijja theeconomicburdenincurredbyfamiliescaringforayoungchildwithdevelopmentaldisabilityinuganda
AT janetseeley theeconomicburdenincurredbyfamiliescaringforayoungchildwithdevelopmentaldisabilityinuganda
AT giuliagreco theeconomicburdenincurredbyfamiliescaringforayoungchildwithdevelopmentaldisabilityinuganda
AT kennethrkatumba economicburdenincurredbyfamiliescaringforayoungchildwithdevelopmentaldisabilityinuganda
AT callyjtann economicburdenincurredbyfamiliescaringforayoungchildwithdevelopmentaldisabilityinuganda
AT emilylwebb economicburdenincurredbyfamiliescaringforayoungchildwithdevelopmentaldisabilityinuganda
AT patricktenywa economicburdenincurredbyfamiliescaringforayoungchildwithdevelopmentaldisabilityinuganda
AT margaretnampijja economicburdenincurredbyfamiliescaringforayoungchildwithdevelopmentaldisabilityinuganda
AT janetseeley economicburdenincurredbyfamiliescaringforayoungchildwithdevelopmentaldisabilityinuganda
AT giuliagreco economicburdenincurredbyfamiliescaringforayoungchildwithdevelopmentaldisabilityinuganda