The Cost of Healthcare among Malaysian Community-Dwelling Elderly

Roshanim Koris (), Norashidah Mohamed Nor (), Sharifah Azizah Haron (), Tengku Aizan Hamid (), Syed Mohamed Aljunid (), Amrizal Muhammad Nur (), Normaz Wana Ismail (), Asrul Akmal Shafie (), Suraya Yusuff () and Namaitijiang Namaitijiang Maimaiti ()
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Roshanim Koris: Pusat Pengajian Pembangunan Sosial dan Ekonomi Universiti Malaysia Terengganu (UMT) 21030 Kuala Nerus, Terengganu
Norashidah Mohamed Nor: Fakulti Ekonomi dan Pengurusan Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) 43400 Serdang, Selangor
Sharifah Azizah Haron: Malaysian Research Institute on Ageing (MyAgeing) Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) 43400 Serdang, Selangor Department of Resource Management and Consumer Studies Faculty of Human Ecology Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) 43400 Serdang, Selangor
Tengku Aizan Hamid: Malaysian Research Institute on Ageing (MyAgeing) Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) 43400 Serdang, Selangor
Syed Mohamed Aljunid: International Centre for Casemix and Clinical Coding (ITCC) Tingkat 5, Bangunan Jururawat Pusat Perubatan Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (PPUKM) Jalan Yaacob Latiff, Bandar Tun Razak 56000 Cheras, Kuala Lumpur Department of Health and Policy Management Faculty of Public Health Kuwait University Hawailli, Kuwait
Amrizal Muhammad Nur: International Centre for Casemix and Clinical Coding (ITCC) Tingkat 5, Bangunan Jururawat Pusat Perubatan Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (PPUKM) Jalan Yaacob Latiff, Bandar Tun Razak 56000 Cheras, Kuala Lumpur
Normaz Wana Ismail: Fakulti Ekonomi dan Pengurusan Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) 43400 Serdang, Selangor
Asrul Akmal Shafie: Pusat Pengajian Sains Farmasi Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) 11800 Minden, Pulau Pinang
Suraya Yusuff: Jabatan Psikiatri Hospital Sultan Ismail Jalan Mutiara Emas Utama Taman Mount Austin 81100 Johor Bahru, Johor
Namaitijiang Namaitijiang Maimaiti: Public Health Department Faculty of Medicine Ankara Yildirim Beyazit University Ankara Turkey

Jurnal Ekonomi Malaysia, 2019, vol. 53, issue 1, 89-103

Abstract: The aim of this study is to provide a comprehensive estimate of the direct and indirect costs of healthcare services used in a nationally representative sample of community-dwelling elderly in Malaysia as well as the determinants of such health care costs. The rise of chronic non-communicable diseases (NCDs henceforth) is stemming from changes in lifestyle and diet, as well as ageing. The prevalence of NCDs basically increases with age and cause an increases in demand for healthcare services which are associated with higher healthcare costs among the elderly. A survey using multi-stage random sampling techniques recruited 2274 elderly people (60 years and above) in Johor, Perak, Selangor and Kelantan. Overall, a year on average of about RM426.50 of costs was determined to be borne by the sampled elderly Malaysian’s in community-dwellings. The direct costs for outpatient care were RM141.24 and the costs for inpatient care were RM2,527. Meanwhile, the indirect costs for outpatient and inpatient care were RM31.44 and RM524.07 respectively. By using multi regression modelling, healthcare used in private facilities and chronic diseases such as cancer and kidney problem were the predictors that influenced the cost of healthcare among the elderly in the community-dwellings. The higher direct cost implies the higher of out-of-pocket health expenditure will borne by the elderly. The elderly who are unable to bear the healthcare cost should be financially support by the authorities to protect them trapped into the catastrophic health expenditure. Therefore, these findings highlighted the importance of further research aimed at decreasing the prevalence and severity of these NCDs among the elderly in the Malaysian community-dwellings.

Keywords: Ageing Population; Catastrophic Health Expenditure; Chronic Noncommunicable Diseases (NCDs); Elderly; Healthcare Cost (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ukm:jlekon:v:53:y:2019:i:1:p:89-103

DOI: 10.17576/JEM-2019-5301-8

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