Costs of healthcare acquired infections due to inadequate water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH)

Costs of healthcare acquired infections due to inadequate water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) in healthcare facilities in Zambia Summary Key messages The number of healthcare associated infections (HAI) in Zambia • The total economic costs (population: 19.6 million) is conservatively estimated at 242,000 of healthcare associated cases in 2022, with 25,100 excess deaths in a year. [...] • Productivity costs: (a) the number of HAIs multiplied by the proportion of adults working multiplied by the daily opportunity cost of time (proxied by the agricultural wage), plus (b) the number of HAIs multiplied by the proportion of patients not working (including children) multiplied by the daily opportunity cost of time for non-working people (30% of the daily GDP per capita). [...] Costs of healthcare acquired infections due to inadequate Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) in healthcare facilities in Zambia / 5 Results Disease burden due to healthcare associated infections In total, the average number of HAIs in Zambia is estimated to be 242,000 in 2022, of which half are predicted to be antimicrobial resistant (Berhe et al. [...] 8 / Costs of healthcare acquired infections due to inadequate Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) in healthcare facilities in Zambia US$ Million Patient satisfaction as a key outcome of healthcare Beyond the HAIs and additional costs to the health system and patients themselves, there will be several other negative consequences of inadequate WASH in healthcare facilities. [...] c Due to lack of published data available on the total costs of treating HAIs, it is necessary to construct the cost based on the cost per hospital bed day, the additional length of stay due to HAI, and the costs of drugs, procedures and laboratory tests related to the HAI.