This study is a multi-center research on economic burdens of COPD for a year. It is composed of three phases detailed as follow.
Phase 1: Direct Cost Estimation in COPD patients (N = 400) Direct cost determined as amount of money expended to medical institutes for treatment. Estimated costs, based on the information from Health insurance review agency(HIRA) and The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) data, are collected.
Phase 2: Indirect cost Estimation by Sampling Survey in COPD patient Indirect cost is extra-expanses excluding hospital fees, including cost for transportation, medical instruments, home care services and loss of labor capacity reduction. The information was collected by structured questionnaire for 12 weeks.
Phase 3: Direct/Indirect cost is validated and analyzed based on the collected information from phase 1 and 2 according to severity defined by the GOLD guideline.
