Prospective study of the patient-level cost of asthma care in children

Area of Science:

• Health Economics
• Pediatric Respiratory Medicine
• Public Health Policy

Background:

• The rising incidence of pediatric asthma necessitates a thorough understanding of associated healthcare costs.
• Existing cost-of-illness estimates may not fully capture the multifaceted financial burden of childhood asthma.
• Multiple stakeholder perspectives (societal, governmental, patient) are essential for comprehensive cost analysis.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the patient-level cost of asthma care in children from societal, Ministry of Health, and patient perspectives.
• To identify key cost drivers and predictors of higher healthcare expenditures in pediatric asthma.
• To provide precise, multi-perspective cost-of-illness estimates to inform clinical and policy decision-making.

Main Methods:

• Longitudinal evaluation involving 339 Ontario children with asthma.
• Data collection via telephone interviews at 1, 3, and 6 months, capturing health service use and costs.
• Inclusion of direct costs (healthcare visits, hospitalizations, medications, devices) and indirect costs (parental productivity loss, travel time).

Main Results:

• From a societal perspective, hospital admissions (43%), medications (31%), and parent productivity losses (12%) were the largest cost components.
• Worse asthma symptoms, younger age, and season of participation were significant predictors of higher total costs.
• Adjusted annual societal costs per patient ranged from $1,122 to $1,386; Ministry of Health costs were $663-$904; patient costs were $129-$132.

Conclusions:

• Pediatric asthma imposes substantial financial burdens across societal, governmental, and patient levels.
• Accurate, multi-perspective cost-of-illness data are vital for effective healthcare reform and resource allocation in pediatric asthma management.
• Enhanced understanding of asthma care costs can improve the quality of clinical and health policy decision-making.