PMH22 RESULTS OF THE GERMAN IDA STUDY—ASSESSING THE FINANCIAL IMPACT OF INFORMAL CARE AMONGST COMMUNITY LIVING DEMENTIA PATIENTS

Abstract

Seen from societal perspective informal care is the major cost component in dementia care for community-living individuals. Values assigned to informal caregiving time are almost the three-fold of total health insurance’s expenditures. Hours family caregivers dedicate to a dementia patient strongly rise when diseases progresses, leading to jumping costs of informal care (€ 31,823 in mild vs. € 52,913 in moderate stage). This observation is in line with a review of 28 dementia related cost of illness studies conducted by Quentin et al. [see Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica 2009, 1:17]. Community-based informal care is a non-cash item saving expenditures for professional care. The economic impact of such tasks is often disregarded, not to speak of the corresponding stress. Referring to a study on behalf of German “Ministry of Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth“ targeting at caregivers of geriatric population in general [see BMFSFJ, editor, 2005] we assumed that caregivers of demented people, too, wish to extend the patients’ time at home as long as feasible. Due to a change of traditional living arrangements within the past decades, a growing number of elderly people is now living on their own without support of any family member. This situation poses an enormous challenge regarding the future organization of dementia care and its financing via social security system. To maintain today’s care-setting concepts fostering community-based dementia care and support to family caregivers need to be further developed. Methods – study population The study observed over a two-years period 383 home-dwelling individuals with mild to moderate dementia in the German region „Middle-Franconia“. The Participants were recruited via general practitioners according to following inclusion criteria: • Member of AOK Bavaria Health Insurance Fund • aged 65 years or older • support of an informal caregiver • from 10 to 24 MMSE [For further details see BMC Health Services Research 2009, 9:91] MMSE values of 10-17 were defined as moderate stage of dementia (n = 135), MMSE values of 18-24 (n =248) as mild stage of dementia. RESULTS OF THE GERMAN IDA STUDY – ASSESSING THE FINANCIAL IMPACT OF INFORMAL CARE AMONGST COMMUNITY-LIVING DEMENTIA PATIENTS L. Schwarzkopf, S. Kunz, P. Menn, S. Wunder2, P. Marx3, J. Lauterberg4, E. Grasel5, R. Holle