Economic Value of Unpaid Family Caregiver Time Following Hospital Discharge and at End of Life.
J Pain Symptom Manage
; 2024 Aug 27.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-39209238
ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION:
Family caregivers (FCGs) play a crucial role in care for people with serious illness, yet unpaid care is often overlooked in estimates of care recipient (CR) care costs. This study quantifies the economic value of unpaid caregiving by FCGs between hospital discharge and end of life.METHODS:
Trial participants were rural FCGs of CRs receiving palliative care during hospitalization. Caregiving hours were self-reported by FCGs over six months following hospital discharge. Economic value was assigned to hours based on wage data from the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics. Time was valued using 1) home health aide wages (proxy cost), 2) median national wage by FCG sex and education level (opportunity cost), 3) opportunity cost if employed and proxy cost otherwise (combination cost).RESULTS:
Of 282 FCGs, 94% were non-Hispanic White, 71% were female, 71% had a college degree, and 51% were in the workforce. FCGs of decedents (58%) compared to survivors reported significantly more caregiving hours per person-month (392 vs. 272), resulting in higher estimated economic value per person-month using opportunity ($12,653 vs. $8,843), proxy ($5,689 vs. $3,955), and combined costing methods ($9,490 vs. $6,443)DISCUSSION:
This study informs more complete economic evaluations of palliative care by estimating the economic value of unpaid caregiving. The high intensity of unpaid caregiving for people with serious illness, especially toward the end of life, should be considered when designing policies and interventions to support FCGs. Better methods for approximating economic value are needed to address potential inequities in current valuation approaches.
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Language:
En
Journal:
J Pain Symptom Manage
Journal subject:
NEUROLOGIA
/
PSICOFISIOLOGIA
/
TERAPEUTICA
Year:
2024
Document type:
Article
Country of publication:
United States