Abstract
BackgroundWe aimed to investigate the burden of informal care in Hungary (HU), Poland (PL) and Slovenia (SI).MethodsA cross-sectional online survey was performed involving representative samples of 1000 respondents per country. Caregiving situations were explored; health status of informal caregivers/care recipients and care-related quality of life were assessed using the EQ-5D-5L and CarerQol-7D.ResultsThe proportion of caregivers was (HU/PL/SI) 14.9, 15.0 and 9.6%, respectively. Their mean age was 56.1, 45.6 and 48.0, and the average time spent on informal care was 27.6, 35.5 and 28.8 h/week. Chronic care was dominant (> 1 year: 78.5%, 72.0%, 74.0%) and care recipients were mainly (own/in-law) parents. Average EQ-5D-5L scores of care recipients were 0.53, 0.49 and 0.52. For Poland and Slovenia, EQ-5D-5L scores of informal care providers were significantly lower than of other respondents. Average CarerQol-7D scores were (HU/PL/SI) 76.0, 69.6 and 70.9, and CarerQol-VAS was 6.8, 6.4 and 6.6, respectively. Overall, 89, 87, and 84% of caregivers felt some or a lot fulfilment related to caring. Problems with combining tasks with daily activities were most important in Hungary and Slovenia. Women had a higher probability of being a caregiver in Hungary. CarerQol-7D scores were significantly associated with caregivers’ EQ-5D-5L scores. In Hungary and Poland, living in a larger household was positively, while caring for patients with mental health problems was negatively associated with CarerQol-7D scores.ConclusionsThese first results from the Central and Eastern European region using preference-based measures for the evaluation of informal care can serve as a valuable input for health economic analyses.
Highlights
Most diseases, especially chronic conditions, which limit patients in their daily activities, create burden for patients but for their families as well
To allow comparisons with other databases (EQLS, OECD), we provide the shares of informal caregivers by age groups 18–34, 35–64 and 65+ : 10.3, 14.5 and 18.0% in Hungary, 14.1, 15.9 and 13.8% in Poland and 7.3, 11.5 and 6.0% in Slovenia, respectively
Previous studies report that women are more likely to be an informal caregiver, for example, OECD Health at Glance reports that the share of women among informal caregivers
Summary
Especially chronic conditions, which limit patients in their daily activities, create burden for patients but for their families as well. Informal care is the care provided for a family member or friend who needs support due to an illness, disability or infirmity of old age. It is mostly non-professional and unpaid care. Results The proportion of caregivers was (HU/PL/SI) 14.9, 15.0 and 9.6%, respectively Their mean age was 56.1, 45.6 and 48.0, and the average time spent on informal care was 27.6, 35.5 and 28.8 h/week. For Poland and Slovenia, EQ-5D-5L scores of informal care providers were significantly lower than of other respondents. In Hungary and Poland, living in a larger household was positively, while caring for patients with mental health problems was negatively associated with CarerQol-7D scores. Conclusions These first results from the Central and Eastern European region using preference-based measures for the evaluation of informal care can serve as a valuable input for health economic analyses
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