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Household Strategies to Cope with the Economic Cost of Illness in Low and Middle Income Countries: A Review Study

Present study reviews the findings of various studies on coping strategies and distress financing of health care expenditure worldwide. More emphasis has been given to studies conducted in low and middle-income countries on households coping strategies but the relevant articles proceeded in high income countries on the same have also been considered. The main purpose of this review study is to recognize and examine the structure of coping strategies and distress financing used by households to pay health care expenditure and to encounter the prospective economic shocks from ill health in these countries. Findings analytically carried out from several studies show that wealthy households mainly use income and savings as a coping strategy for health care financing in low and middle-income countries. Whereas borrowings, sale of assets, contributions from relatives and other significant non-financial strategies such as intra-family labour reallocation, hiring and free community labour etc. have been found frequently used by poor households. Evidences from the studies conducted in India have also signified that along with savings/income, distress financing is playing a dominant role to cope up with financing health care in the country.