Table 1. Cost of maternal health services in public and private health sectors.
| Variables | Public Health Sector Costs (US$) | Private Health Sector Out-of-pocket Costs (US$) | Mean Difference (Overall private minus public) |
p-value | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Secondary hospitals (n = 5) Mean (SD) |
Tertiary hospital* (n = 1) |
Overall public (n = 6) Mean (SD) |
Clinics/care provider (n = 19) Mean (SD) |
Secondary hospitals (n = 5) Mean (SD) |
Tertiary hospital* (n = 1) |
Overall private (n = 25) Mean (SD) |
|||
| Ambulatory visits for routine antenatal care (cost per visit) | |||||||||
| Medical doctor | 3.6 (2.1) | 0.9 | 2.3 (2.1) | 2.2 (1.9) | 2.8 (2.6) | 6 | 3.7 (2.2) | 1.4 | <0.0001 |
| Nurse | NA | NA | - | 1.7 (2.1) | NA | NA | 1.7 (2.1) | 1.7 | |
| Midwife | NA | NA | - | 0.6 (0.3) | NA | NA | 0.6 (0.3) | 0.6 | |
| Traditional birth attendant | NA | NA | - | 0.5 (0) | NA | NA | 0.5 (0) | 0.5 | |
| Diagnostic tests (cost per test) | |||||||||
| Pregnancy ultrasound | 0.5 (0) | 0.5 | 0.5 (0) | 2.8 (1.1) | 3.9 (3.2) | 6 | 4.2 (2.4) | 3.7 | <0.0001 |
| Complete blood count | 0.9 (0.9) | 0.4 | 0.7 (0.6) | 2 (1.4) | 3.8 (2.2) | 5.2 | 3.7 (2.2) | 3 | |
| Culture | 1.3 (1.1) | 0.6 | 0.9 (0.8) | NA | 6.9 (6.6) | 4.2 | 5.6 (4.9) | 4.7 | |
| Creatinine | 0.4 (0.2) | 0.4 | 0.4 (0.1) | NA | 3.4 (2.8) | 4.3 | 3.9 (2.2) | 3.5 | |
| Serum albumin | 0.4 (0.2) | 0.2 | 0.3 (0.1) | NA | 3.2 (0.8) | 3.2 | 3.2 (0.8) | 2.9 | |
| Aspartate Aminotransferase | NA | NA | - | NA | 6 | NA | 6 | 6 | |
| Alanine aminotransferase | NA | 0.8 | 0.8 | NA | 3.8 (2.7) | 1.9 | 2.9 (1.3) | 2.1 | |
| Urine dipstick | 0.3 (0) | NA | 0.3 (0) | 0.8 (0.5) | 1.3 (1.2) | NA | 1.1 (0.9) | 0.8 | |
| Urine microscopy | 0.3 (0) | 0.2 | 0.3 (0.1) | NA | 1.8 (1.5) | 2.6 | 2.2 (1.4) | 1.9 | |
| Chest x-ray | 0.9 (0.6) | 0.5 | 0.7 (0.3) | NA | 2.5 (1.4) | 6 | 4.3 (2.1) | 3.6 | |
| CT scan | NA | 15 | 15 | NA | NA | 20 | 20 | 5 | |
| In-patient admissions (cost per overnight stay) | |||||||||
| General ward | 3.4 (1.7) | 57.5 | 30.5 (38.3) | 4.2 (1.4) | 8.5 (11.1) | 15.2 | 9.3 (8.7) | -21.2 | 0.0136 |
| Intensive care | NA | 151.2 | 151.2 | NA | NA | 36.5 | 36.5 | -114.7 | |
| Delivery and blood transfusion (cost per procedure) | |||||||||
| Spontaneous vaginal delivery | 45.4 (30.7) | 79.1 | 62.3 (30.7) | 33.3 (14.8) | 86 (92.4) | 150 | 89.8 (93.1) | 27.5 | <0.0001 |
| Assisted vaginal delivery | 50.2 (33.8) | 86.6 | 68.4 (33.8) | 35.8 (23.7) | 106 (108.8) | 200 | 113.9 (104.6) | 45.5 | |
| C-section | NA | 223.8 | 223.8 | NA | 304 (167.2) | 400 | 352 (154.3) | 128.2 | |
| Blood transfusion | NA | 20.1 | 20.1 | NA | 17.8 (22.3) | 25.8 | 21.8 (19.6) | 1.7 | |
* Mean and standard deviation not calculated for one facility; SD: Standard deviation; NA: not available at designated health facility