@phdthesis{Mushi2015,
  author    = {Lawrencia Mushi},
  title     = {The Economics of Dialysis in Tanzania},
  journal    = {{\"O}konomische Bewertung der Dialyse in Tansania},
  url       = {https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:gbv:9-002292-9},
  year      = {2015},
  abstract  = {Although End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) is a disease of increasing epidemiological relevance very little is known about the cost of providing the respective dialysis services in Tanzania. This study analyses the cost of outpatient dialysis at Muhimbili National Hospital (MNH) in Tanzania in the year 2014 in order to address the question weather or not dialysis treatment should be a priority intervention in a poor resource country like Tanzania. Cost analyses were performed based on the provider’s perspective including only direct costs of dialysis treatment. Cost of drugs and consumables were obtained from the price list of Medical Stores Department in Tanzania. Overhead were collected from the respective departments and allocated to the final cost centres through step down approach. The results indicates that MNH performs on average 442 hemodialyses per month (34 patients, with three sessions per week) with a personnel placement of 20 nurses, four nephrologists, eight registrars, one nutritionist, two biomedical engineers, four health attendants and nine dialysis machines. The respective average unit cost per haemodialysis is 175.91 US\$. Consequently, an average patient requiring three dialyses per week (i.e. 156 dialyses per year) will cause annual costs of 27,441.95 US\$. The annual cost of dialysis is enormous for a least developed country like Tanzania where resources and technology are rather limited. Infectious diseases (such as malaria and tuberculosis) are the major health problems. Therefore, from the economic point of view, it seems rational to allocate health care budgets towards diseases that are curable, have higher cost- effectiveness and cater for the majority of the population. However, before a final decision on allocation of budget towards dialysis is made, all efforts that could improve technical efficiency and reduce the costs of materials in Tanzania must be invested. For instance, reducing the nursing time per dialysis.},
  language  = {en}
}