[Characteristics and determinants of informal care in chronic diseases in Hungary: a comparative analysis]

Informal care plays an important role in ageing societies.

To analyse informal care use and its determinants among patients with chronic diseases in Hungary.

Patient level data from previous studies in 14 diagnoses were analysed including patients' EQ-5D-3L health status. Descriptive statistics were performed and a linear regression model was built to analyse determinants of informal care time.

2047 patients (female: 58%) with mean age of 58.9 (SD = 16.3) years and EQ-5D-3L index score of 0.64 (SD = 0.33) were involved. 27% received informal care, the average time of care was 7.54 (SD = 26.36) hours/week. Both the rate of informal care use and its time differed significantly between the diagnoses (p<0.05), the highest were in dementia, Parkinsons' disease and in chronic inflammatory immunological diseases. Significant determinants were age, EQ-5D-3L scores, gender and certain diagnosis dummys (R² = 0.111).

Informal care use is significant in chronic debilitating conditions. Future studies are encouraged to reveal unmet needs, preferences and further explanatory factors. Orv Hetil. 2017; 158(52): 2068-2078.