ICU-related Out of Pocket Expenses (ICOPE)

The ICU-related Out-of-Pocket Expenses (ICOPE) study is a multinational, prospective observational study conducted in African and Asian countries to quantify ICU-related out-of-pocket expenditures and catastrophic health expenditure among patients and families. The study will include all patients admitted to participating ICUs during a predefined 14-day recruitment window, provided they have an ICU stay longer than 24 hours and informed consent is obtained. A minimum sample size of 354 patients is planned, including both ventilated and non-ventilated patients. Participants will be followed until ICU discharge, with additional follow-up at 30 days and 6 months after admission, resulting in a total study duration of 18 months. The primary objective is to quantify ICU-related out-of-pocket costs and assess the proportion of patients experiencing catastrophic health expenditure, comparing ventilated and non-ventilated groups, while secondary objectives include identifying risk factors for catastrophic expenditure and documenting coping strategies used by families to manage ICU costs.