Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2021 Feb;28(2):548-557.
doi: 10.1111/ene.14585. Epub 2020 Nov 6.

Patients' productivity losses and informal care costs related to ischemic stroke: a French population-based study

M Barral  1 , H Rabier  1   2 , A Termoz  1   2 , H Serrier  1   2 , C Colin  1   2 , J Haesebaert  1   2 , L Derex  2   3 , N Nighoghossian  3 , A-M Schott  1   2 , M Viprey  1   2 ; Stroke69 Study Group
Affiliations

Patients' productivity losses and informal care costs related to ischemic stroke: a French population-based study

M Barral et al. Eur J Neurol. 2021 Feb.

Abstract

Background and purpose: Large societal costs of stroke should not be ignored. We aimed to estimate patients' productivity losses and informal care costs during the first year after ischemic stroke.

Methods: A cross-sectional survey was performed within the STROKE69 regional population-based cohort study. At 1 year post-stroke, each patient and the corresponding main informal caregiver received questionnaires followed by a telephone interview if necessary. Time losses were valued using the human capital approach and proxy good method for patients with and without a professional activity, respectively.

Results: Among the 222 patients with ischemic stroke (58% men; mean age 68 years; and 86% with a modified Rankin Scale (mRS) score of <3 at 3 months), 54%, 32%, and 25% received informal, formal, and both cares, respectively. Among the 108 main informal caregivers, 63% were women, 74% lived with the patient, and 57% were retired or unemployed. The mean cost of productivity losses was estimated at €7589 ± €12 305 per patient in the first post-stroke year with 5.4%, 71.2%, and 23.4% of these being attributed to presenteeism, absenteeism, and leisure time, respectively. Informal care was given at an average of 25 h/week. The annual mean estimated total cost of informal care was €10 635 per caregiver.

Conclusions: Informal care and productivity losses of patients with ischemic stroke during the first post-stroke year represent a significant economic burden for society comparable to direct costs. These costs should be included in economic evaluations with the adoption of a societal perspective to avoid underestimating the societal stroke economic burden.

Keywords: caregivers; indirect costs; informal care; ischemic stroke; productivity losses.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Feigin VL, Norrving B, Mensah GA. Global burden of stroke. Circ Res 2017; 120: 439-448.
    1. Gustavsson A, Svensson M, Jacobi F, et al. Cost of disorders of the brain in Europe 2010. Eur Neuropsychopharmacol 2011; 21: 718-779.
    1. Chevreul K, Durand-Zaleski I, Gouépo A, Fery-Lemonnier E, Hommel M, Woimant F. Cost of stroke in France. Eur J Neurol 2013; 20: 1094-1100.
    1. Posnett J, Jan S. Indirect cost in economic evaluation: the opportunity cost of unpaid inputs. Health Econ 1996; 5: 13-23.
    1. Landfeldt E, Zethraeus N, Lindgren P. Standardized questionnaire for the measurement, valuation, and estimation of costs of informal care based on the opportunity cost and proxy good method. Appl Health Econ Health Policy 2019; 17: 15-24.

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources