The Economic Costs of Childhood Disability: A Literature Review

Ahmed Ramadan Shokry Shahat and Giulia Greco
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Ahmed Ramadan Shokry Shahat: Quality and Accreditation Directorate, Ministry of Health, Sulaibikhat 13001, Kuwait
Giulia Greco: Department of Global Health and Development, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Keppel Street, London WC1E 7HT, UK

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 7, 1-25

Abstract: Background: This literature review investigates the economic costs of childhood disability analysing methodologies used and summarizing the burden worldwide comparing developed and developing countries. Methods: Four electronic databases were searched. Studies were categorised according to country, perspective, methods of costing, disability category, and time horizon. Annual costs were converted to 2019 current US dollars then compared to the country’s per capita current health expenditure (CHE) and gross domestic product (GDP). Results: Of 2468 references identified, 20 were included in the review. Annual burden of childhood disability ranged ?$450–69,500 worldwide. Childhood disability imposes a heavy economic burden on families, health systems, and societies. The reason for the wide range of costs is the variability in perspective, costs included, methods, and disability type. Conclusion: The annual societal costs for one disabled child could be up to the country’s GDP per capita. The burden is heavier on households in developing countries as most of the costs are paid out-of-pocket leading to impoverishment of the whole family. Efforts should be directed to avoid preventable childhood disabilities and to support disabled children and their households to make them more independent and increase their productivity. More studies from developing countries are needed.

Keywords: child; disability; burden; cost (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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