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burden

— The negative psychological, financial or time impact of taking a test or treatment


Full explanation:

All treatments involve some burden, such as taking a pill daily, time needed for outpatient visits, having diagnostic tests.

For patients these include burdens experienced by themselves and their families or caregivers; for example, the burden of having to take care of a sick person at home. Sometimes these burdens can drive treatment choices.

Example:

For example, some people are so averse to having to take a pill that they might choose not to do so, even though the benefits of taking the pill otherwise clearly outweigh the harms.

See also:

desirable effects  ·  undesirable effects

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