Table 1 Critical differences affecting health and health care in high-income versus low-income and middle-income countries [19, 23]
| Â | High-income countries | Low-income and middle-income countries |
|---|---|---|
Gross national income per capita | High ≥US$9,386; upper middle US$3,036 to $9,385 | Low ≤US$765 or lower; middle US$766 to $3,035 |
Access to health care | Initial access usually through primary care with established referral networks, which may include high indirect costs | Limited to very basic primary care especially in rural areas and/or established referral networks, which invariably include high indirect costs |
Healthcare funding | National programs, private insurance, out-of-pocket expenses | Often ill-funded, may rely on donors/volunteering services. Indirect costs and informal payments can represent major barriers to care |
Common epilepsy etiologies | Neoplastic, cerebrovascular | (Post-)infectious, antenatal, post-traumatic |
HIV prevalence | Low | Can be moderate to high |
Cultural perception of seizures | Biomedical model | Traditional medicine, spiritual approach; contagion beliefs common |
Socio-cultural attitudes towards epilepsy | Neutral public perception or at least social presentation of neutrality | Overt negative public perception, stigmatization, and discrimination common |