title: Examining the cost per caregiver of an intervention designed to improve the quality of life of spousal caregivers of stroke survivors.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  There is a growing consensus among healthcare researchers that, within the field of family caregiving, cost-effectiveness research is needed to determine which programs have the greatest benefit for family members. This study examines the cost per caregiver of an intervention designed to improve the quality of life of spousal caregivers of stroke survivors.
  
  
  METHODS
  Cost data from the CAReS study were analyzed to determine the cost of the intervention per caregiver.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The cost of the intervention per caregiver was $2,500 at the 2009 median wage estimate. It was $1,700 at the 2009 10 percentile wage estimate and $3,500 at the 2009 90 percentile wage estimate.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study provides a prototype cost analysis from which researchers can build. In future analyses, costs should be tracked at a participant level so uncertainty can be calculated using the bias-corrected percentile bootstrapping method and plotted to calculate cost-effectiveness acceptability curves, enabling cost-effectiveness comparisons between interventions.
authors.affiliation: School of Nursing at UTHealth Academic Health Science Center, Houston, TX, USA. eva_p@sbcglobal.net
authors.forename: Eva K
authors.initials: EK
authors.lastname: Parker
authors.forename: J Michael
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Swint
authors.forename: Kyler M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Godwin
authors.forename: Sharon K
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Ostwald
mesh_terms: D057179:Advanced Practice Nursing / Q000191:economics; D017028:Caregivers / Q000523:psychology*; D017048:Health Care Costs / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D009788:Occupational Therapy / Q000191:economics; D059825:Physical Therapists / Q000191:economics; D011788:Quality of Life; D019145:Rehabilitation Nursing / Q000191:economics*; D020521:Stroke / Q000191:economics / Q000451:nursing; D000071939:Stroke Rehabilitation