Abstract :
Background: Depression is one of the causes of disability in the world and it has huge financial cost to individuals and societies. To identify effective healthcare and policy interventions, it is necessary and important to understand this burden as the patient.
Purpose: This study aims at evaluating the economic cost of depression among patients in the Baluchistan Institute of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences (BIPBS), Quetta, Pakistan.
Methods: The study was a quantitative cross-sectional study with a sample population of 385 patients who were purposively sampled. A standardized Patient Costs Questionnaire by DIRUM was used to collect data using direct medical costs, direct non-medical costs and indirect costs. The descriptive statistics, independent samples t-tests, and regression analyses were used.
Findings: The overall average cost of depression per patient was equal to 175.69, direct cost (163.63), and indirect cost (12.06). Gender disparities were also substantial in terms of income loss, wage loss by caregiver, household income, and medical costs (p < 0.05). The regression analysis indicated that the direct cost, indirect cost, and gender explained 43.7 percent variation in the household income.
Conclusion: Depression is a significant burden to patients and their families which is mostly fuelled by medical costs, transportation costs, and lost productivity. The results demonstrate that specialized financial resources, better coverage of mental care, and the policies concerning productivity loss in depressed patients are required.