Table 1 Variables, their measurements, and hypothesized sign of the association with out-of-pocket expenditure on medical care at formal healthcare facilities
| Measurement and categorization | Expected direction of relation to OOPE | |
|---|---|---|
| Outcome variables | ||
| Out-of-pocket expenditures (OOPE) on medical treatment | Continuous | |
| Utilization of formal healthcare services (in the last 4 weeks) |
0 = no care or informal care (incl. Self-care; community health worker or community nurse; traditional healer or herbalist) 1 = formal care (incl. Visit to either a public, a private or a not-for-profit Western healthcare facility) | |
| Selection variable | ||
| Distance to the closest health facility (km) | Continuous (measured as straight-line distance) | |
| Explanatory variables | ||
| Age |
0 = 0–4 years 1 = 5–14 years 2 = 15–39 years 3 = 39+ years | + |
| Sex |
0 = male 1 = female | – |
| Education (education status of household head if children < 14 years) |
0 = no formal education 1 = any formal education | + |
| Household head |
0 = other 1 = being household head | + |
| Reported chronic illness |
0 = no chronic illness reported 1 = chronic illness reported | + |
| Illness duration (days) | Continuous | + |
| Limitation imposed on routine activities |
0 = no perceived limitation on routine activities 1 = perceived limitation on routine activities | + |
| Hospitalization |
0 = no hospitalization 1 = hospitalization | + |
| Accompanying persons | Continuous | + |
| Socio economic status (wealth quartiles) |
1 = poorest (1st wealth quartile) 2 = poor (2nd wealth quartile) 3 = less poor (3rd wealth quartile) 4 = least poor (4th wealth quartile) | + |
| Household size |
0 = 0–5 members 1 = 5+ members | – |
| Location of household |
0 = rural 1 = urban | + |