Key result
Direct costs for urban hypertension management in Burkina Faso consume ~10% of annual patient income.
Why the study?
Hypertension is among the top 10 reasons for visiting primary health care centres in Burkina Faso, prompting estimation of direct outpatient management costs in the context of universal health coverage development.
Cross-Sectional (n=380)
Yes
The average direct cost per patient-year of managing hypertension in urban Burkina Faso is a significant financial burden, exceeding one-tenth of the patient's annual income.
Answers are grounded in this paper and cite their sources.
Substantial direct costs may hinder sustained hypertension care; hypothesis-generating for affordability interventions in urban African primary settings.
Introduction: Hypertension is among the top 10 reasons for visiting primary health care centres (PHCCs) in Burkina Faso. Using a patient-level analysis, this study estimated the direct cost for hypertension management at outpatient care, in urban PHCCs in Bobo-Dioulasso, in the context of a universal health coverage policy development in the country. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study, using an adapted form of the “Costs for Patients Questionnaire” (CoPaQ) that includes different components for direct cost estimations. A sample of 380 hypertensive adults were interviewed from January to February 2022, at 20 public PHCCs in Bobo-Dioulasso. Results: Per patient-year, the means [95% CI] in income and direct cost were 786 947 CFA (USD 1418.3) [694 200 (USD 1251.1) - 879 695 (USD 1585.4)] and 78 623 FCFA (USD 141.3) [68 766 (124.0) - 88 480 (159.5)], respectively. Of the annual total direct cost, 47.5%, 18.5%, 16.3% and 13.5% were spent on medication, medical visits, hospitalisations and paraclinical tests, respectively. Only two patients (0.5%) were enrolled in insurance policy; and uncontrolled hypertension frequency was 72.1% (95% CI: 67.3-76.6). Conclusion: The average direct cost per patient-year of managing hypertension exceeded one-tenth of the patient's annual income, equivalent to more than one-fifth of the country's guaranteed minimum wage, which is a significant financial burden for many people. This study should be followed by cost-effectiveness analyses and community engagement building for hypertension control at small-scale piloting in Bobo-Dioulasso, then broad-based in the country.
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Diallo et al. (2025) conducted a cross-sectional in Hypertension (n=380). Hypertension management was evaluated on Mean direct cost per patient-year (FCFA) (95% CI 68766-88480). The average direct cost per patient-year for managing hypertension in urban primary health facilities in Burkina Faso was 78,623 FCFA, exceeding one-tenth of the patient's annual income.
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