Assessment of socio-economic impact and health care expenditure pattern of covid 19 in households of rural field practice area of belagavi - a community based cross-sectional study

Abstract

Background: SARS-CoV-2 infection started in China and then later spread across continents to cause Covid-19 disease. It was announced as a pandemic on March 11, 2020. Kerala was the first state to report the case on January 30, 2020. Lockdown and quarantine measures were taken to limit the spread of infection by the government, though India remained the one of the top countries to report cases and deaths due to Covid-19. The impact of the disease is widespread ranging from health, economy, politics and, social life. Vaccine inequities were seen globally, intake of vaccine conferred protection in terms of disease severity and survival. Long term consequences of the infection are seen in the form of post-Covid or long-Covid symptoms affecting multiple organ systems. Objective: The study aims to assess the socioeconomic impact and to estimate the average healthcare expenditure for covid 19 infection in the rural field practice area.