Title: Economic impact of reproductive tract infections and resources for their control.

POPLINE Document Number: 120066

Author(s):

Piot P
Rowley J

Source citation:

In: Reproductive tract infections: global impact and priorities for women's reproductive health, edited by Adrienne Germain, King K. Holmes, Peter Piot, Judith N. Wasserheit. New York, New York, Plenum Press, 1992. :227-49. (Reproductive Biology)

Abstract:

The economic costs associated with reproductive tract infections (RTIs) and their complications and sequelae in developing countries are substantial. Direct costs include the costs of diagnosing and treating the disease and preventing its spread, while indirect costs include the value of labor lost from morbidity, debility, and premature mortality, as well as the value of any labor diverted from other productive uses to care for the ill. The current lack of data on these economic consequences has contributed to the implementation of and allocation of funds for interventions in this area. Recommended, to better estimate the resources needed for RTI prevention and control, are the following: 1) development of strategies and priorities for RTI control, as well as a plan of action, by an ad hoc group of donors, women's health advocates, and health system specialists; 2) sensitizing of policy makers in governments, donor agencies, and RTI-related programs to RTIs and both a health and development issue; 3) immediate incorporation of selected interventions for RTI control into primary health care, family planning, maternal-child health, safe motherhood, and AIDS control programs; 4) development and evaluation of biomedical, behavioral, and societal interventions for RTI control and treatment in the developing world and an assessment of their cost- effectiveness; and 5) support of intervention-oriented research and the development of female preventive technology.

Keywords:

Developing Countries
Literature Review
Screening
Treatment
Gonorrhea
Syphilis
Examinations and Diagnoses
Sexually Transmitted Diseases
Reproductive Tract Infections
Infections
Diseases