- Hidden Costs: Lost Productivity

Abstract Purpose This study aimed to examine population-based trends in the incidence rate, health care consumption, and work absence with associated costs in patients with rib fractures. Methods A retrospective nationwide epidemiologic study was performed with data from patients with one or more rib fractures presented or admitted to a hospital in the Netherlands between January 1, 2015 and December 31, 2018 and have been registered in the Dutch Injury Surveillance System (DISS) or the Hospital Discharge Registry (HDR). Incidence rates were calculated using data from Statistics Netherlands. The associated direct health care costs, costs for lost productivity, and years lived with disability (YLD) were calculated using data from a questionnaire. Results In the 4-year study period, a total of 32,124 patients were registered of which 19,885 (61.9%) required hospitalization with a mean duration of 7.7 days. The incidence rate for the total cohort was 47.1 per 100,000 person years and increased with age. The mean associated direct health care costs were €6785 per patient and showed a sharp increase after the age of 75 years. The mean duration of work absence was 44.2 days with associated mean indirect costs for lost productivity of €22,886 per patient. The mean YLD was 0.35 years and decreased with age. Conclusion Rib fractures are common and associated with lengthy HLOS and work absenteeism as well as high direct and indirect costs which appear to be similar between patients with one or multiple rib fractures and mostly affected by admitted patients and age.

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Predictors of poor health and functional recovery following road trauma: protocol of a British Columbian inception cohort study

BMJ Open ◽

10.1136/bmjopen-2021-049623 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (4) ◽

pp. e049623

Author(s):

Leona K Shum ◽

Herbert Chan ◽

Shannon Erdelyi ◽

Lulu X Pei ◽

Jeffrey R Brubacher

Keyword(s):

Resource Use ◽

Healthcare Resource ◽

Healthcare Providers ◽

Healthcare Resource Use ◽

Physical And Mental Health ◽

Inception Cohort ◽

Policy Makers ◽

Productivity Costs ◽

Poor Outcome ◽

Lost Productivity

IntroductionRoad trauma (RT) is a major public health problem affecting physical and mental health, and may result in prolonged absenteeism from work or study. It is important for healthcare providers to know which RT survivors are at risk of a poor outcome, and policy-makers should know the associated costs. Unfortunately, outcome after RT is poorly understood, especially for RT survivors who are treated and released from an emergency department (ED) without the need for hospital admission. Currently, there is almost no research on risk factors for a poor outcome among RT survivors. This study will use current Canadian data to address these knowledge gaps.Methods and analysisWe will follow an inception cohort of 1500 RT survivors (16 years and older) who visited a participating ED within 24 hours of the accident. Baseline interviews determine pre-existing health and functional status, and other potential risk factors for a poor outcome. Follow-up interviews at 2, 4, 6, and 12 months (key stages of recovery) use standardised health-related quality of life tools to determine physical and mental health outcome, functional recovery, and healthcare resource use and lost productivity costs.Ethics and disseminationThe Road Trauma Outcome Study is approved by our institutional Research Ethics Board. This study aims to provide healthcare providers with knowledge on how quickly RT survivors recover from their injuries and who may be more likely to have a poor outcome. We anticipate that this information will be used to improve management of all road users following RT. Healthcare resource use and lost productivity costs will be collected to provide a better cost estimate of the effects of RT. This information can be used by policy-makers to make informed decisions on RT prevention programmes.

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Survey of One-handed Lifting in Manufacturing Industry: A Cross-sectional Study of the BackWorks Study Cohort

Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting ◽

10.1177/1071181320641225 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 64 (1) ◽

pp. 942-946

Author(s):

Ruoliang Tang ◽

Jay M. Kapellusch ◽

Andrew S. Merryweather ◽

Matthew S. Thiese ◽

Kurt T. Hegmann ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Manufacturing Industry ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Study Cohort ◽

The European Union ◽

Sectional Study ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Materials Handling ◽

Manual Materials Handling ◽

Lost Productivity ◽

The One

Low back pain (LBP) is a common health problem and a major cause of lost productivity in workplaces. Manual materials handling (MMH) jobs have traditionally been regarded as risk factor for LBP. Compared to two-handed lifting, one-handed lifting has received little attention in both epidemiological and biomechanical research. In addition, one frequent complaint of the revised NIOSH lifting equation (RNLE) has been the lack of capability to directly evaluate one-handed lifting. Modifications have been proposed by the European Union, however their efficacy and influence have not yet been evaluated. This cross-sectional study provided objective survey of the MMH jobs, especially the one-handed lifting performed in manufacturing industry and investigated the outcomes of three proposed methods to address one-handed lifting using RNLE approach. Preliminary results suggest that workers with some one-handed lifting are associated with higher physical exposure. However, the increase was more significant among those who perform primarily one-handed lifting.

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Economic Burden of Influenza in Thailand: A Systematic Review

INQUIRY The Journal of Health Care Organization Provision and Financing ◽

10.1177/0046958020982925 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 57 ◽

pp. 004695802098292

Author(s):

S. Kiertiburanakul ◽

W. Phongsamart ◽

T. Tantawichien ◽

W. Manosuthi ◽

P. Kulchaitanaroaj

Keyword(s):

Economic Burden ◽

Thai Population ◽

Population Demographics ◽

Productivity Costs ◽

Healthcare Facilities ◽

Macroeconomic Analysis ◽

High Incidence ◽

Lost Productivity ◽

Research Gap ◽

Influenza Illness

Thailand has a high incidence and high mortality rates of influenza. This study summarizes the evidence on economic burden or costs of influenza subsequent to the occurrence of influenza illness in the Thai population by specific characteristics such as population demographics, health conditions, healthcare facilities, and/or cost types from published literature. A systematic search was conducted in six electronic databases. All costs were extracted and adjusted to 2018 US dollar value. Out of 581 records, 11 articles (1 with macroeconomic analysis and 10 with microeconomic analyses) were included. Direct medical costs per episode for outpatients and inpatients ranged from US$4.21 to US$212.17 and from US$163.62 to US$4577.83, respectively, across distinct influenza illnesses. The overall burden of influenza was between US$31.1 and US$83.6 million per year and 50-53% of these estimates referred to lost productivity. Costs of screening for an outbreak of influenza at an 8-bed-intensive-care-unit hospital was US$38242.75 per year. Labor-sensitive sectors such as services were the most affected part of the Thai economy. High economic burden tended to occur among children and older adults with co-morbidities and to be related to complications, non-vaccinated status, and severe influenza illness. Strategies involving prevention, limit of transmission, and treatment focusing on aforementioned patients’ factors, containment of hospitalization expenses and quarantine process, and assistance on labor-sensitive economy sectors are likely to reduce the economic burden of influenza. However, a research gap exists regarding knowledge about the economic burden of influenza in Thailand.

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Methods for Estimating Avoidable Costs of Excessive Alcohol Consumption

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph18094964 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 18 (9) ◽

pp. 4964

Author(s):

Beata Gavurova ◽

Miriama Tarhanicova

Keyword(s):

Czech Republic ◽

Alcohol Consumption ◽

Data Availability ◽

Excessive Alcohol Consumption ◽

Public Authorities ◽

The Czech Republic ◽

Cost Of Disease ◽

Lost Productivity ◽

Excessive Alcohol ◽

The Cost

Background: Alcohol is a risk factor with serious consequences for society and individuals. This study aims to present methods and approaches that might be used to estimate the costs related to excessive alcohol consumption. It emphasizes the need for general methods and approaches that are easily applicable, because the level of digitalization and data availability vary across regions. The lack of data makes many methods inapplicable and useless. The ease of applicability will help to make cost-of-illness studies and their results comparable globally. Methods: This study is based on data from the Czech Republic in 2017. Drinking alcohol results in costs of healthcare, social care, law enforcement, and administrative costs of public authorities. To quantify the cost of drinking in the Czech Republic, the top-down approach, bottom-up approach, human capital approach and attributable fractions were used. Results: In 2017, the cost related to alcohol was estimated at 0.66% of the national GDP. Lost productivity represented 54.45% of total cost related to alcohol. All cost related to alcohol is considered to be avoidable. Conclusions: The methods and approaches applied to estimate the cost of disease or any other health issue should be generalized regarding the availability of data and specifics of provided services to people who are addicted or have any kind of disability.

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Costs of Schizophrenia and Other Psychoses in Urban Australia: Findings from the Low Prevalence (Psychotic) Disorders Study

Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry ◽

10.1046/j.1440-1614.2003.01092.x ◽

2003 ◽

Vol 37 (1) ◽

pp. 31-40 ◽

Cited By ~ 48

Author(s):

Vaughan J. Carr ◽

Amanda L. Neil ◽

Sean A. Halpin ◽

Scott Holmes ◽

Terry J. Lewin

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Health Care ◽

Psychotic Disorders ◽

Community Services ◽

Societal Costs ◽

Metropolitan Regions ◽

Lost Productivity ◽

Average Patient ◽

The Government ◽

Low Prevalence

Objective: To estimate the costs associated with the treatment and care of persons with psychosis in Australia based on data from the Low Prevalence Disorders Study (LPDS), and to identify areas where there is potential for more efficient use of existing health care resources. Method: The LPDS was a one-month census-based survey of people with psychotic disorders in contact with mental health services, which was conducted in four metropolitan regions in 1997–1998. Mental health and service utilization data from 980 interviews were used to estimate the economic costs associated with psychotic disorders. A prevalencebased, ‘bottom-up’ approach was adopted to calculate the government and societal costs associated with psychosis, including treatment and non-treatment related costs. Results: Annual societal costs for the average patient with psychosis are of the order of $46 200, comprising $27 500 in lost productivity, $13 800 in inpatient mental health care costs and $4900 in other mental health and community services costs. Psychosis costs the Australian government at least $1.45 billion per annum, while societal costs are at least $2.25 billion per annum (including $1.44 billion for schizophrenia). We also report relationships between societal costs and demographic factors, diagnosis, disability and participation in employment. Conclusions: Current expenditure on psychosis in Australia is probably inefficient. There may be substantial opportunity costs in not delivering effective treatments in sufficient volume to people with psychotic disorders, not intervening early, and not improving access to rehabilitation and supported accommodation.

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