Catastrophic Health Expenditure and its Determinants in Older Adults in Tehran, Iran

Abstract

Background: The phenomenon of aging is among the important evolution currently happening in Iran. The rise in older adults population presents health policy-makers with new challenges and highlight the need for the evidence of providing and funding services to deal with this phenomenon. Methods: The present cross-sectional study was performed on 550 randomly selected older adults from 22 districts of Tehran, Iran in 2017. Data were collected using the household healthcare expenditure questionnaire. The catastrophic health expenditures (CHEs) were defined as health expenditure exceeding 40% of the capacity to pay. The relationship between household characteristics and catastrophic expenditures was determined using multivariate logistic regression model in Stata version 14. Results: The findings showed that 11.1% of older adults were burdened with. The highest frequency of catastrophic expenditures was observed in the first and second income quintiles household size of five and higher, the unemployed, and those with no supplementary insurance. According to the multivariate model, household income was an independent predictor for CHEs. Compared to the first quintiles of income, being at the third quintile decreased the odds of encountering CHEs by 42% and the forth quintiles and higher decreased the odds of CHEs by 78%. Conclusion: This study revealed an obvious prevalence of CHEs among older adults. Lower household income was associated with higher probability of suffering from CHEs.