Introduction

Tuberculosis continues to be a serious public health problem. Its diagnosis and treatment generate economic difficulties as its care requires significant costs for the patient and their family. Therefore, the objective of this study was to calculate the costs of searching for tuberculosis diagnosis for symptomatic respiratory patients and their relatives at a Health School Center in Belém, Pará.

Materials and Methods

Quantitative, cross-sectional study with 40 symptomatic respiratory patients. Collection of socioeconomic data and costs of disease diagnosis was used as an instrument. A descriptive analysis was conducted, with a distribution of frequencies and measures added to the averages, standard deviation, and chi-squared tests with a significance level of 5%.

Results

There was a reduction in working hours per day after the onset of respiratory symptoms and loss of employment by 20%, which had an impact on the average reduction in income. Direct and indirect costs were responsible for the loss of 1 to 20% of family income.

Discussion

The search for tuberculosis diagnosis has been shown to overburden family budgets, which may lead the patient to postpone the search for diagnosis in health services.

Conclusions

The search for a tuberculosis diagnosis represents a significant expense for patients and their families. This disease is related to a socio-economic vulnerability because although the diagnosis is offered in the public health network, costs are borne by families.

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