Supporting young adults with hemiplegia: services and costs.
This paper lays out the service and cost consequences of supporting a nationally representative sample of young adults with hemiplegic cerebral palsy. The total costs burden and the additional costs that accrue to the public and independent sector due to their disabilities are calculated. Most of the young adults live at home. Many lead "ordinary" lives and attend further or higher education establishments or go to work. A small number of study members, however, make intensive use of expensive, often segregated facilities such as residential homes or schools and make considerable use of other support services. In total, this group of 81 people cost just over 1 million pounds to support during the year prior to interview, 43% of which was related to their impairments. When the sample is divided into two groups, people with a combination of associated conditions are found to have hemiplegia-associated costs almost 50 times greater than those with simple hemiplegia.
Beecham
J
J
Centre for the Economics of Mental Health, Institute of Psychiatry, De Crespigny Park, Denmark Hill, London SE5 8BB, UK. J.Beecham@iop.kcl.ac.uk
O'Neill
T
T
Goodman
R
R
D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002547:Cerebral Palsy / Q000191:economics / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D003365:Costs and Cost Analysis; D003695:Delivery of Health Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D004522:Educational Status; D004651:Employment / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D015276:Health Care Rationing / Q000191:economics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006296:Health Services / Q000191:economics* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006429:Hemiplegia / Q000191:economics / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D006798:Housing / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D017533:Marital Status / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012943:Social Security / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D006113:United Kingdom