Catastrophic Health Expenditures and Coping Strategies in Households with Cancer Patients in Shiraz Namazi Hospital

Background: performance of a health system is of great importance since it is themajor means for improving health. until now, various methods have been proposedfor assessing the performance of the health system. the method proposed by worldhealth organization is based on three major goals of the health system: healthimprovement, accountability, and equity in financial contribution. equity of a household'sfinancial contribution in the health system can be determined through the measurementof catastrophic health expenditures. therefore, the present study aims to determine thepercentage of households with cancer patients that face catastrophic health expenditures. methods: this descriptive-analytical study was conducted in a cross-sectionalmanner. the statistical community of this research included all households with cancerpatients who referred to the chemotherapy and radiotherapy wards of namazi hospital,shiraz, iran. the study participants were selected by simple random sampling. we usedthe expenditure part of world health organization's health survey questionnaire togather data related to the 245 study participants. data analysis was conducted byspss statistical software and the chi-square test.results: according to the results, 67.9% of households with cancer patients facedcatastrophic health expenditures. there was a significant relationship between facingthese costs and type of insurance, residence, use of outpatient services, type of treatmentand other family members who refrained from using healthcare services.conclusion: the high percentage of households with cancer patients who facecatastrophic health expenditures can direct policy makers to develop support policiesfor these patients and, at the same time, aim at reducing their treatment expenses. payingspecial attention to cancer patients, considering cancer as a specific disease, revisingthe country’s insurance system, and reconsidering the provided services can be thepriorities of the health system.