Estimating the cost of referral and willingness to pay for referral to higher-level health facilities: a case series study from an integrated community case management programme in Uganda

Table 3 Average cost per referred case overall and by health facility level

Type of cost/type of health facility	Overall mean (SD)	HC II mean (SD)	HC III mean (SD)	HCIV/HOSPITAL mean (SD)	% Contribution to unit cost
Per capita cost to health facility^a	1.94	1.68	1.15	3.01	39.6
Opportunity cost CHW	0.25 (0.12)	0.24 (0.11)	0.29 (0.14)	0.19(0.08)	5.1
Opportunity cost caregiver	1.43 (2.02)	1.39 (1.91)	1.47 (1.78)	1.69 (3.10)	29.2
Out of pocket expenditure caregiver	1.65 (3.25)	1.17 (2.53)	2.04 (3.89)	1.92 (3.08)	33.7
Total unit cost	4.89	4.34	4.80	6.68
Costs among completed referrals
Cost borne by health facility^a	1.94	1.68	1.15	3.01	26.3
Opportunity cost CHW	0.25 (0.12)	0.24 (0.11)	0.29 (0.14)	0.19(0.08)	3.4
Opportunity cost caregiver	2.73 (2.17)	2.62 (2.09)	2.99 (1.51)	3.81 (3.73)	37.1
Out of pocket expenditure caregiver	2.52 (3.50)	1.33 (1.95)	3.12 (4.3)	1.71 (2.38)	34.5
Total unit cost	7.35	5.89	7.63	11.32

^aAverage obtained from literature with no standard deviation, the costs included staff, drugs and medical supplies, lab tests and indirect costs

ISSN: 1472-6963