Costing of the Integrated Management of Childhood Illnesses in Bangladesh: A Study Based on Matlab Data. Small Applied Research No. 11

摘要

This study estimates the costs of resources-primarily manpower and medications-that Bangladesh would need to adopt Integrated Management of Childhood Illnesses (IMCI) guidelines into its community-level health services provision nationwide. The use of IMCI guidelines would replace the 'reported symptoms' methodology now in use. The study was carried out by community health workers and paramedics at health care sub-centers in the Matlab district, under the direction of the International Center for Diarrheal Disease Research, Bangladesh. It compared current illness patterns, referral rates, personnel time, drug prescribing practices and costs, and patient care seeking behavior to what would have occurred using IMCI. It estimates that, in theory, nationwide use of IMCI would save the country ;6.8 million in drug costs per year. (In reality, since Bangladesh suffers an acute drug shortage, meeting all drug needs would increase drug expenditures, but that is not due to IMCI.). Because of the additional time adherence to IMCI would require health workers to spend examining and treating children and counseling their parents or guardians on follow-up care, implementation of IMCI would more than double the current number of health workers. The cost of this additional workforce is estimated to be ;2.6 million per year.