How to include informal care in economic evaluations

Area of Science:

• Health Economics
• Health Services Research

Background:

• Economic evaluations guide healthcare decisions by assessing costs and effects.
• Informal care, provided by family and friends, is crucial for many patients but affects carer well-being.
• Excluding informal care from evaluations can lead to incomplete assessments.

Purpose of the Study:

• To provide an overview of current methods for incorporating informal care into economic evaluations.
• To assist researchers in selecting appropriate techniques for measuring and valuing informal care.
• To ensure comprehensive economic evaluations of health interventions.

Main Methods:

• Review of state-of-the-art methods for measuring informal care.
• Discussion of valuation techniques, including partial and full valuation.
• Illustration of methods with practical examples.

Main Results:

• Various methods exist for measuring and valuing informal care.
• Technique selection depends on the economic evaluation's type and perspective.
• Methods allow for the inclusion of informal care as either costs or effects.

Conclusions:

• Including informal care in economic evaluations is essential for accurate healthcare decision-making.
• Researchers can use this overview to choose suitable methods for their specific evaluations.
• Comprehensive economic evaluations considering informal care lead to better resource allocation.