Financial protection for patients in diagnosis and treatment for tuberculosis: Results from systematic review and evaluation of conformity with Vietnam context

Abstract

    Recently, universal health coverage in diagnosis and treatment for tuberculosis in general and financial protection for patients for particular is one of the challenging issues for a-low-middle income country but high burden of tuberculosis like Vietnam. In order to solve the problem of catastrophic out-of-pocket expenditure for tuberculosis diagnosis and treatment, several interventions have implemented and evaluated all around the world. This study aims to gather evidences on effective interventions and to evaluate the applicability of those evidences in Vietnamese context. A systematic review was conducted with the results of 4.813 records from Pubmed, Cochrane library and EMBASE databases. After deduplication, 3.928 abstracts were reviewed for inclusion criteria. After reviewing, 59 full-texts were found and reviewed and 17 full-texts were included in the analysis stage. Interventions presented in 17 full-texts could be classified into 6 main groups. Discussion with healthcare professionals indicated the applicability of the interventions in Vietnam as well as recommendations for implementation in Vietnam.