The economic effects of kidney failure treatment on the household welfare of patients on Dialysis in Buea and Bamenda–Cameroon

Background: Noncommunicable diseases, such as kidney failure, diabetes, and cancer, are among the leading causes of death worldwide. There is a sharp increase in the incidence and prevalence of patients with kidney failure requiring replacement therapy. This has led to a very high cost, especially in resource-limited settings like Cameroon. The aim of this study is to determine the effects of direct and indirect costs of kidney failure treatment on their household income. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study design was used. Primary data was collected using a self-administered pre-tested questionnaire for the economic impact of chronic disease. For bivariate analysis, we used the Cochran-Mantel-Haenszel test to obtain crude Odd Ratios (OR) of factors associated with household welfare. Multivariate logistic regression, the OLS model was used to identify independent associations between kidney failure treatment and household welfare. This was presented as adjusted odd ratios along with their p-values. A p-value of <0.05 was used as a cut-off for statistical significance. Results: The mean age of participants was 44.6±15.5 years; most patients (83(62.4%)) were married. Seventy-nine (59.4%) were unemployed, and eighty-one (60.9%) had no financial support. Their annual household expenditure ranged from 300,000FCFA to 3,360,000FCFA, with a mean and standard deviation of 1,547,729FCFA and 781,882FCFA, respectively. The yearly total cost of kidney failure treatment ranged from 520,000FCFA to 10,000,000FCFA with a mean and standard deviation of 2,137,556FCFA and 1,541,163FCFA, respectively. The cost of consultation and laboratory tests had negative regression coefficients (P=0.001 and <0.001 respectively). Conclusion: kidney failure has a significant negative effect on the household welfare of patients on dialysis. Kidney disease screening and prevention programs are necessary to reduce the number of persons in need of hemodialysis. Health insurance schemes and universal health coverage should target patients on hemodialysis.