Training care givers of stroke patients: economic evaluation.
BACKGROUND
Training care givers reduces their burden and improves psychosocial outcomes in care givers and patients at one year. However, the cost effectiveness of this approach has not been investigated.


OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the cost effectiveness of caregiver training by examining health and social care costs, informal care costs, and quality adjusted life years in care givers.


METHODS
A single, blind, randomised controlled trial.


METHODS
Stroke rehabilitation unit.


METHODS
300 stroke patients and their care givers.


METHODS
Caregiver training in basic nursing and facilitation of personal care techniques compared with no care giver training.


METHODS
Health and social care costs, informal care costs, and quality adjusted life years in care givers over one year after stroke.


RESULTS
Total health and social care costs over one year for patients whose care givers received training were significantly lower (mean difference -4043 pounds sterling (7249 dollars; 6072 euros), 95% confidence interval -6544 pounds sterling to -595 pounds sterling). Inclusion of informal care costs, which were similar between the two groups, did not alter this conclusion. The cost difference was largely due to differences in length of hospital stay. The EQ-5D did not detect changes in quality adjusted life years in care givers.


CONCLUSIONS
Compared with no training, caregiver training during rehabilitation of patients reduced costs of care while improving overall quality of life in care givers at one year.
Patel
Anita
A
Centre for the Economics of Mental Health, Institute of Psychiatry, London SE5 8AF.
Knapp
Martin
M
Evans
Andrew
A
Perez
Inigo
I
Kalra
Lalit
L
D017028:Caregivers / Q000193:education* / Q000523:psychology; D017281:Cost of Illness; D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis; D017048:Health Care Costs / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006295:Health Resources / Q000191:economics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006701:Home Nursing / Q000191:economics* / Q000193:education*; D006757:Hospital Units / Q000191:economics; D006801:Humans; D011788:Quality of Life; D019057:Quality-Adjusted Life Years; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D016037:Single-Blind Method; D020521:Stroke / Q000191:economics* / Q000451:nursing; D000071939:Stroke Rehabilitation; D006113:United Kingdom