Healthcare utilization and lost productivity due to infectious gastroenteritis, results from a national cross-sectional survey Australia 2008-2009

The aim of this study was to estimate the healthcare usage and loss of productivity due to gastroenteritis in Australia using the National Gastroenteritis Survey II. In 2008-2009, 7578 participants across Australia were surveyed about infectious gastroenteritis by telephone interview. A gastroenteritis case was defined as a person experiencing loose stools and/or 2 vomits in a 24-h period, excluding cases with a non-infectious cause for their symptoms, such as pregnancy or consumption of alcohol. Lost productivity was considered any lost time from full- or part-time paid work due to having gastroenteritis or caring for someone with the illness. Interference with other daily activities was also examined along with predictors of healthcare-seeking practices using multivariable regression. Results were weighted to obtain nationally representative estimates using Stata v. 13·1. Of the 341 cases, 52 visited a doctor due to gastroenteritis, 126 reported taking at least one medication for their symptoms and 79 cases reported missing 1 days' paid work due to gastroenteritis. Gastroenteritis results in a total of 13·1 million (95% confidence interval 6·7-19·5) days of missed paid work each year in Australia. The indirect costs of gastroenteritis are significant, particularly from lost productivity.