The economic burden of non-communicable diseases on households and their coping mechanisms: Evidence from rural Vietnam

Abstract

In developing countries, the economic burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) on households may be very high, especially in rural areas where the social protection and public health care systems are inadequate and underdeveloped. However, there has been very little research on the economic burden of NCDs on households in rural areas. We used two rounds of panel data from rural Vietnam to examine the economic burden of NCDs on households and determine which coping mechanisms the affected households adopted to mitigate these burdens. We employed a difference-in-difference combined with propensity score matching method to account for selectivity bias. Our results revealed that NCDs are associated with higher numbers of labor days lost and lower earned income (particularly, income from non-farm self-employment and wage activities). We also found that the NCD-affected households resort to remittances, sales of assets, and loans in response to NCDs. In addition, households with NCDs in adults tended to experience greater economic burden and adopted more coping mechanisms than households with NCDs in the elderly or children. Our research underscores the importance of measures and policies designed to protect rural households against the economic burden of NCDs.