Impact of cancer on the productivity of American Families

Abstract

6058 Background: Studies of disease burden of cancer usually focused on individuals who suffered from cancer, but neglected the spillover effect of cancer on the productivity of family members of cancer patients (pts). This study examines the overall impact of cancer on the productivity using families as the unit of analysis. Methods: A sample of cancer pts was extracted from the 2000 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) data. Cancer was identified from the ICD-9-CM and the Clinical Classification Codes. Productivity-loss at family-level was measured by total work-loss days for all employed family members, those diagnosed with cancer, and those having work-loss days due to caring for illness of others. We used a two-part model to examine the likelihood of having productivity loss from employed family caregivers (a logit model) and the quantity of work-loss between cancer and non-cancer families (a Least Square model). Results: The 2000 MEPS contained 8,849 families; 7.6% had one or more family member had a cancer diagnosis. Among family members who were employed, the average number of work-loss days was 10.7 and 7.2 days for cancer and non-cancer families, respectively (P=0.007). Employed family caregivers (defined as employed family members who reported having work-loss days to care for others) were found in 20.6% and 18.1% of the cancer and non-cancer families (P=0.189), with 7.7 and 3.7 work-loss days (P=0.09), respectively. Results from the two-part model (Table 1) showed no significant difference in the likelihood of having productivity loss from employed family caregivers. However, among families with employed family caregivers, cancer families had a significant higher number of work-loss days. Conclusions: Cancer affects the productivity of American families through work-loss of cancer pts and their family caregivers. Failure to incorporate the effect of cancer on family caregivers may underestimate the economic burden of cancer. No significant financial relationships to disclose.