Publication: The Economic Burden of SARS-CoV-2 Infection Amongst Health Care Workers in the First Year of the Pandemic in Kenya, Colombia, Eswatini, and South Africa
Loading...
Date
2023-07-24
ISSN
Published
2023-07-24
Author(s)
Munge Kabubei, Kenneth
Rasanathan, Jennifer
Kazungu, Jacob
Ginindza, Sandile
Mtshali, Sifiso
Salinas, Luis E.
McClelland, Amanda
Buissonniere, Marine
Lee, Christopher T.
Editor(s)
Abstract
Health care workers (HCWs) face disproportionate risk of exposure and becoming ill in any infectious disease outbreak. SARS-CoV-2 has proven to be no exception: From Wuhan to Manaus, London to Tehran, and Delhi to Johannesburg, HCWs working in clinics and hospitals have been at heightened risk of developing COVID-19 disease, especially at the beginning of the pandemic when little was known about the then-novel pathogen. This study thus aims to estimate the economic costs of SARS-CoV-2 infections in HCWs during the first year of the pandemic from the societal perspective in four low or middle- income countries. The authors propose a framework to translate SARS-CoV-2 infection amongst HCWs into economic costs along three pathways, provide the estimated burden of HCW infections, and offer recommendations to mitigate against future economic losses due to HCW infections. The economic burden due to SARS-CoV-2 infection among HCWs makes a compelling investment case for pandemic preparedness, particularly the protection of HCWs, and resilient health systems going forward.
Link to Data Set
Citation
“Wang, Huihui; Munge Kabubei, Kenneth; Rasanathan, Jennifer; Kazungu, Jacob; Ginindza, Sandile; Mtshali, Sifiso; Salinas, Luis E.; McClelland, Amanda; Buissonniere, Marine; Lee, Christopher T.; Chuma, Jane; Veillard, Jeremy; Matsebula, Thulani; Chopra, Mickey. 2023. The Economic Burden of SARS-CoV-2 Infection Amongst Health Care Workers in the First Year of the Pandemic in Kenya, Colombia, Eswatini, and South Africa. © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/40070 License: CC BY-NC 3.0 IGO.”
Associated URLs
Associated content
Other publications in this report series
Journal
Journal Volume
Journal Issue
Collections
Related items
Showing items related by metadata.
Publication Investing in Human Capital in South Africa(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-01-22)South Africa's economic growth and development agenda and to present a harmonized approach for investing in priority areas for human capital formation. The policy note first presents an in-depth diagnostic of the status of human capital in the country, applying a life cycle approach. The life cycle approach places a strong emphasis on investing in human capital development holistically, involving all relevant sectors, and as a continuum, following the trajectory of an individual's life. Focus is given to three critical stages of an individual's life, (i) early childhood; (ii) school age; and (iii) youth to adulthood. Based on the findings of the analysis, the policy note identifies the priority challenges and proposes a framework for action. The findings of this policy note aim to serve as a basis for a much-needed dialogue across key relevant government entities, including sector departments such as the Department of Health, the Department of Basic Education, the Department of Higher Education and Training, Department of Social Development, and others, such as National Treasury, Department of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation, the Office of the Presidency as well as provincial government departments, on how best to invest in human capital, both in the short and medium-to-long term. The note could also be used to inform a range of stakeholders, including civil society, development partners, and the private sector of the human capital development challenges in South Africa and how certain gaps could be addressed through better coordination of interventions. Lastly, the note aims to motivate further research on key areas where there are information and knowledge gaps on human capital in South Africa.Publication Colombia - Evaluación de las Capacidades de Preparación y Respuesta ante Futuras Pandemias y Emergencias en Salud Pública(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2022-05-31)El sistema de salud en Colombia (SGSSS) se basa en un sistema de aseguramiento que tiene como objetivo garantizar el acceso a los servicios de salud y la protección económica de la población. El SGSSS tiene principalmente dos esquemas de beneficiarios: subsidiado y contributivo 1 . Los beneficiarios de estos regímenes están afiliados a las empresas de aseguramiento (EPS) que los representan y administran sus riesgos de salud coordinando los servicios necesarios, según lo determine el Plan de Beneficios. Este Plan se refiere a la gama elegible de servicios, procedimientos, medicamentos y tecnologías para prevenir, aliviar y tratar enfermedades. Por cada beneficiario, se reconoce y desembolsa a cada EPS, una tasa de prima de salud, la Unidad de Pago por Capitación (UPC). Las EPS organizan su red de prestaciones de servicios y contratan a las Instituciones Prestadoras de Servicios de Salud (IPS), para brindar servicios de salud a sus beneficiarios. Las IPS pueden ser hospitales públicos o privados, servicios de atención ambulatoria o profesionales de la salud por cuenta propia. El sistema de salud se financia principalmente con recursos del Estado central, con recursos adicionales derivados de los aportes de personas y empresas con empleados formales. Otros recursos centralizados son desembolsados a las entidades territoriales para financiar iniciativas de salud pública y complementar el régimen subsidiado. Las entidades territoriales también han destinado ingresos (impuestos a licores y loterías) para atender gastos en salud. La pandemia causada por la expansión a escala global del virus SARS CoV2 y de la enfermedad generada por este agente (COVID-19), ha suscitado una crisis sin precedentes desde la perspectiva sanitaria, social y económica (Organización Panamericana de la Salud, 2020). Tal circunstancia ha develado la necesidad de evaluar hasta qué punto estamos preparados como sociedades, regiones, países, ciudades y municipios para encarar y resistir los efectos devastadores de una epidemia, emergencia o problemática sanitaria de tal magnitud. Por ello, resulta preciso identificar brechas y vacíos en las capacidades de preparación y respuesta identificando el grado de desarrollo de aquellas habilidades, condiciones y potencialidades que resguarden las capacidades de operación de los sistemas de salud y permitan responder efectivamente a estas adversidades.Publication Costs of Health Care Associated Infections from Inadequate Water and Sanitation in Health Care Facilities in Eastern and Southern Africa(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-02-21)In Sub-Saharan Africa, health care facilities face critical challenges in water supply, sanitation, and hygiene services; health care waste management; and environmental cleanliness. With coverage below 50 percent, these deficiencies pose significant health risks to patients and health care workers, contributing to health care–associated infections. Meta-analyses and individual studies estimate rates of health care–associated infections in Sub-Saharan Africa at between 13 and 30 percent of hospital admissions, impacting patients, families, and health care providers. Rising antimicrobial resistance further exacerbates health outcomes and costs. In Eastern and Southern Africa, an estimated 3.1 million health care–associated infections in 2022 incurred over 320,000 excess deaths, costing at least US$6 billion, or 1.14 percent of combined gross domestic product in 2022. Investing in comprehensive water supply, sanitation, and hygiene and health care waste management can yield substantial benefits, with a benefit-cost ratio of 5.8 for all economic costs. Beyond preventing health care–associated infections, improved cleanliness and infrastructure are crucial for patient satisfaction, impacting future health care–seeking behavior and health care worker job satisfaction. Sub-Saharan African countries should prioritize infrastructure investment, budget allocation, staffing, and behavioral improvements to enhance the quality of health care and mitigate these pressing challenges.Publication Utilization of Health Care and Burden of Out-of-Pocket Health Expenditure in Zimbabwe(Taylor and Francis, 2018-11-06)In the last decade, Zimbabwe has undertaken substantial changes and implemented new initiatives to improve health system performance and services delivery, including results-based financing in rural health facilities. This study aims to examine the utilization of health services and level of financial risk protection of Zimbabwe’s health system. Using a multistage sampling approach, 7,135 households with a total of 32,294 individuals were surveyed in early 2016 on utilization of health services, out-of-pocket (OOP) health expenditure, and household consumption (as a measure of living standards) in 2015. The study found that the outpatient visits were favorable to the poor but the poorest had less access to inpatient care. In 2015, household OOP expenditure accounted for about one quarter of total health expenditure in Zimbabwe and 7.6% of households incurred catastrophic health expenditure (CHE). The incidence of CHE was 13.4% in the poorest quintile in comparison with 2.8% in the richest. Additionally, 1.29% of households fell into poverty due to health care–related expenditures. The study suggests that there are inequalities in utilization of health services among different population groups. The poor seeking inpatient care are the most vulnerable to CHE.Publication Guidance Note on Health Care Worker Safety from HIV and Other Blood Borne Infections(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2004-05)The safety of heath care workers (HCWs) who take care of people with HIV/AIDS and other infectious diseases is of paramount importance. Occupational transmission of blood borne infections is not regarded as a common problem in developed country settings, but this is not the case in resource poor countries where the incidence and impact of such exposures is under-reported and is now becoming appreciated as an important risk factor for HCWs. It is generally assumed that protection from occupational exposures requires expensive equipment which is not reasonable for resource poor healthcare services. However, appropriately designed education and training, in combination with relatively low-cost technologies have the potential for both reducing injuries and increasing the confidence of Healthcare workers in providing essential care for their patients.
Users also downloaded
Showing related downloaded files
Publication Municipal Waste Management in Serbia - Situational Analysis(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-04-19)This report provides a baseline analysis of the existing situation in the municipal waste management sector in Serbia and underscores the importance of the sector in terms of achieving Sustainable Cities objectives. Reforms in the waste sector are a key component of a larger government commitment to a Green Transition. Ambitions to significantly improving the solid waste management system, in line with EU requirements, is well reflected in recently adopted policies and plans including the National Waste Management Program for the period2022 – 2031. There is a significant focus on the establishment of much needed basic disposal infrastructure. However, implementation remains slow, and some waste related targets will require further alignment and adjustment as the EU landscape continues to evolve.Publication South Asia’s Digital Opportunity(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2022-03-27)The report presents both the opportunities of and the bottlenecks for furthering the digital agenda. It emphasizes that the first step is to get the basics right. This includes enabling access to and adoption of high-quality affordable broadband, initiating a paradigm shift in building digital public platforms and accelerating digital financial services. Part of this includes integrating digital ID, digital payments, and data sharing platforms so they can become ‘digital stacks’ that allow service providers to build and innovate their own platforms and systems on top. Supporting digital businesses, fostering digital skills, and creating the necessary trust environment are also critical to the digital agenda. Further, a successful digital agenda at country levels would benefit from regional integration that entails cross-border connectivity, data infrastructure, and payment systems.Publication South Asia Development Update, October 2024: Women, Jobs, and Growth(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-10-10)South Asia’s growth is on track to exceed earlier expectations, in a broad-based upturn. The region is expected to remain the fastest-growing among emerging market and developing economies (EMDEs). Several risks could upend this generally promising outlook, including extreme weather events, social unrest, and policy missteps, such as reform delays. But South Asian countries also have considerable untapped potential that could help them further boost productivity growth and employment and adapt to climate change. In particular, with about two-thirds of the region’s working-age women out of the labor force, raising female employment rates to those of men could increase per capita income by as much as one-half. Measures to accelerate job creation, remove obstacles to women working, and equalize gender rights would be more effective if combined with a shift toward social norms that looked more favorably on working women. Also, most South Asian countries rank among the EMDEs least open to global trade and investment. Greater openness could boost women’s employment, spur the growth of firms, and allow the region to take better advantage of the reshaping of global supply chains and trade. Reducing the cost of conducting business could help the region better harness large-scale remittance inflows.Publication Digital Opportunities in African Businesses(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-05-16)Adoption of digital technologies is widely acknowledged to boost productivity and employment, stimulate investment, and promote growth and development. Africa has already benefited from a rapid diffusion of information and communications technology, characterized by the widespread adoption of mobile phones. However, access to and use of digital technology among firms is uneven in the region, varying not just among countries but also within them. Consequently, African businesses may not be reaping the full potential benefits offered by ongoing improvements in digital infrastructure. Using rich datasets, “Digital Opportunities in African Businesses” offers a new understanding of the region’s incomplete digitalization—namely, shortfalls in the adoption and effective use of digital technology by firms to perform productive tasks. The research presented here also highlights the challenges in addressing incomplete digitalization, finding that the cost of machinery, equipment, and software, as well as the cost of connectivity to the internet, is significantly more expensive in Africa than elsewhere. “Digital Opportunities in African Businesses” outlines ways in which the private sector, with support from policy makers, international institutions, and regulators, can help bring down these costs, stimulating more widespread digitalization of the region’s firms, thereby boosting productivity and, by extension, economic development. This book will be relevant to anyone with an interest in furthering digitalization across Africa.Publication Women, Business and the Law 2023(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2023-03-02)“Women, Business and the Law 2023” is the ninth in a series of annual studies measuring the laws and regulations that affect women’s economic opportunity in 190 economies. The project presents eight indicators structured around women’s interactions with the law as they move through their lives and careers: Mobility, Workplace, Pay, Marriage, Parenthood, Entrepreneurship, Assets, and Pension. The 2023 edition identifies barriers to women’s economic participation and encourages reform of discriminatory laws. This year, the study also includes research, a literature review, and analysis of 53 years of reforms for women’s rights. Examining the economic decisions that women make throughout their working lives as well as tracking regulatory changes from 1970 to today, the study makes an important contribution to research and policy discussions about the state of women’s economic opportunities. By presenting powerful examples of change and highlighting the gaps still remaining, “Women, Business and the Law 2023” is a vital tool in ensuring economic empowerment for all. Data in “Women, Business and the Law 2023” are current as of October 1, 2022.