Abstract

Background

Children with cerebral palsy require effective, accessible and affordable medical and rehabilitation care.

Objective

The aim of this study was to evaluate the direct monthly cost of outpatient hospital-based care for children with cerebral palsy (CP) in Kano City, Nigeria.

Methods

The study was a cross-sectional survey. Consenting participants were recruited using the purposive sampling technique. Data on cost of medical and physiotherapy consultations, number of consultations per month, cost of diagnostic investigations, and out-of-pocket expenditures were captured using a researcher-designed questionnaire. Data were analyzed with descriptive statistics using Microsoft Excel and SPSS version 20.

Results

A total of 106 children with CP and their caregivers participated in this study. The mean age of the children was 3.18 ± 1.90 years and that of their caregivers was 27.32 ± 4.63 years. The average direct cost of outpatient care per month was ₦14 295.38 (Nigerian naira) ($46.87) ± ₦13 211.52 ($43.32). The average monthly cost of physiotherapy was ₦503.77 ($1.65) ± ₦220.79 ($0.72), whereas those for transportation and radiological investigations were ₦1861.49 ($6.10) ± ₦1435.06 ($4.71) and ₦3771.46 ($12.37) ± ₦5135.32 ($16.84), respectively.

Conclusion

The average direct monthly cost of providing outpatient hospital-based care for children with CP in Kano City, Nigeria may not be affordable because most of the participants earned very meager monthly incomes. The highest medical cost was incurred from radiological investigation, whereas transportation was the most important out-of-pocket cost. The Nigerian government should make a policy decision for the automatic enrollment of all children diagnosed with CP into the National Health Insurance Scheme.