TABLE 2.

Three ways health emergencies and disasters lead to economic impacts

Ways	Economic impacts
Household impacts	Healthcare costs, through spending on health services or medicines, create direct economic impacts. Substantial healthcare costs can force households to limit other essential expenditures or require funds be obtained through potentially distressing means, such as incurring financial debt. 31 , 32 An inability to work, due to individual illness or caring for another person, can create indirect economic impacts through income losses and associated financial distress. 33
Health system impacts	Health emergencies and disasters create increased demand for healthcare services, which can limit the availability of services to those in need. Damage to infrastructure, constrained workforce capacities, and disruption to physical supply‐chains can further limit the availability and accessibility of those healthcare services. 32 Restricted healthcare services can mean that illness and injury are not treated, leading to worse health outcomes and higher health‐related costs in the long term. 18 , 34
Macroeconomic impacts	Health emergencies and disasters can disrupt the functioning of government institutions, private organizations, and the overall economy—negatively impacting both people's lives and livelihoods. 8 Approaches to estimating macroeconomic impacts include examining losses to consumption or economic output more broadly. 35 , 36

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