Abstract：Objective To investigate the disease distribution of residents impoverished by diseases among targeted-measured poverty alleviation subjects in Ezhou City so as to provide evidence for solving the problem of poverty for this group of households from the root. Methods We collected diseases information concerning all targeted-measured poverty alleviation subjects with archives and cards and reported through the National Health Assist Poverty Information System in Ezhou City in 2016, and conducted a summary and analysis on 45 major diseases included in Action Plan for “Three Batches” of the Health Poverty Alleviation Project. Results A total of 20,961 households and 51,155 subjects were registered during targeted-measured poverty alleviation campaign in Ezhou City in 2016. Among them, 25,728 (50.29%) subjects were healthy, 16,470 (32.20%) were impoverished by diseases, and 8,957 (17.51%) were impoverished by disability. Based on the family unit, 13,313 (63.51%) households were impoverished by diseases. Among the subjects impoverished by diseases, the top five diseases were severe mental illness, cerebrovascular disease, rheumatoid arthritis, arthropathy (hip or knee) and diabetes, with the percentages being 12.29%, 9.17%, 3.28%, 2.56% and 2.38% respectively. Conclusions Critical illnesses and chronic non-communicable diseases are main causes of residents’ poverty at the present stage, especially severe mental illness and cerebrovascular disease, which account for 21.46%, are the major illnesses to cause poverty. Thus it is of urgent need to develop targeted measures and radically solve the problem of poverty for these households.
2018, Vol. 25 
