Understanding the economic value and impacts on informal carers of people living with mental health conditions

McDaid, David ORCID: 0000-0003-0744-2664 and Park, A-La ORCID: 0000-0002-4704-4874 (2022) Understanding the economic value and impacts on informal carers of people living with mental health conditions. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19 (5). ISSN 1661-7827

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Abstract

Informal carers play a vital role in supporting people living with mental health conditions, but comparatively little is known about the economic value of caring. This study undertook an online survey of adult informal carers supporting adults with mental health conditions to better understand the impacts of caring on carer quality of life, levels of loneliness, finances and employment, as well as estimate the economic value of time spent caring. In total, 712 carers participated in the multi-national survey between August 2019 and April 2020. A total of 17% were male, with a mean age of 53, and 68% supported a child living with a mental health condition. A total of 56% of care recipients were male, with a mean age of 37. Adverse impacts on quality of life, loneliness and personal finances were greatest in carers living with care recipients. Overall mean weekly hours of care were 43.42, rising to 65.41 for carers living with care recipients. Mean weekly costs of care per carer ranged from €660 to €2223 depending on living arrangements. Annual costs ranged between €34,960 and €125,412, depending on living arrangements and valuation method. Informal care costs are substantial, and policy makers should consider investing more in carer support, especially for carers living with care recipients.

Item Type:	Article
Official URL:	https://www.mdpi.com/journal/ijerph
Additional Information:	© 2022 The Authors
Divisions:	Personal Social Services Research Unit
Subjects:	R Medicine > RA Public aspects of medicine > RA0421 Public health. Hygiene. Preventive Medicine H Social Sciences > HC Economic History and Conditions H Social Sciences > HN Social history and conditions. Social problems. Social reform R Medicine > RC Internal medicine > RC0321 Neuroscience. Biological psychiatry. Neuropsychiatry
Date Deposited:	07 Mar 2022 17:54
Last Modified:	17 Apr 2024 20:27
URI:	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/114272

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