SynthesisPharmacoEconomics2017
The Valuation of Informal Care in Cost-of-Illness Studies: A Systematic Review.
Synthesis in PharmacoEconomics, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 60 papers, 8 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
60 citing papers in PubMed, 8 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 129 citations in OpenAlex.
- The Burden of Informal Caregiving for Adults with Musculoskeletal Conditions: A Systematic Review.PharmacoEconomics · 2025Pooled it
- A systematic review of economic evaluations forInternational journal of technology assessment in health care · 2023Pooled it
- Does the inclusion of societal costs change the economic evaluations recommendations? A systematic review for multiple sclerosis disease.The European journal of health economics : HEPAC : health economics in prevention and care · 2023Pooled it
- Economic Burden of Multiple Sclerosis in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: A Systematic Review.PharmacoEconomics · 2021Pooled it
- Cost-Utility Analyses of Interventions for Informal Carers: A Systematic and Critical Review.PharmacoEconomics · 2020Pooled it
- How relevant are social costs in economic evaluations? The case of Alzheimer's disease.The European journal of health economics : HEPAC : health economics in prevention and care · 2019Pooled it
- Cost-of-illness studies in nine Central and Eastern European countries.The European journal of health economics : HEPAC : health economics in prevention and care · 2019Pooled it
- [Social costs of diseases: How relevant are they for economic evaluations?]Revista espanola de salud publica · 2018Pooled it
- Costs associated with treatment of insomnia in Alzheimer's disease caregivers: a comparison of mindfulness meditation and cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia.BMC health services research · 2022Trial
- Effectiveness of a Physical Therapeutic Exercise Programme for Caregivers of Dependent Patients: A Pragmatic Randomised Controlled Trial from Spanish Primary Care.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2020Trial
- The global cost of schizophrenia: a health economic modelling study.International journal of mental health systems · 2026Article
- Economic value of non-professional care in Spain. An analysis of the last decade.The European journal of health economics : HEPAC : health economics in prevention and care · 2026Article
- Article
- Validation of the Danish version of the Carer Experience Scale in family caregivers of people with dementia.Health and quality of life outcomes · 2026Article
- An Introduction to Costing and the Types of Costs Used within Health Economic Studies.PharmacoEconomics - open · 2025Review
- Does the Informal Carer Identification Method Matter? Evidence from Self-Declaration and Time Diary Approaches.PharmacoEconomics · 2025Article
- Time value of informal care of people with alzheimer's disease in Spain: a population-based analysis.The European journal of health economics : HEPAC : health economics in prevention and care · 2025Article
- Non-medical costs incurred by critically ill patients with dengue, sepsis and tetanus within a major referral hospital in Southern Vietnam: a cost of illness study.BMJ public health · 2025Article
- The Economic Costs of Informal Care: Estimates from a National Cross-Sectional Survey in The Netherlands.The European journal of health economics : HEPAC : health economics in prevention and care · 2024Article
- Regional health priorities for dementia: a roadmap for the Western Pacific.The Lancet regional health. Western Pacific · 2024Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThere is a growing interest in incorporating informal care in cost-of-illness studies as a relevant part of the economic impact of some diseases.
objectiveThe aim of this paper was to review the recent literature valuating the costs of informal care in a group of selected diseases from 2005 to 2015.
methodsWe carried out a systematic review on the economic impact of informal care, focusing on six selected diseases: arthritis or osteoarthritis, cancer, dementia, mental diseases, multiple sclerosis and stroke.
resultsWe selected 91 cost-of-illness articles. The average weight attributed to the informal care cost over the total cost was highly relevant for dementia, stroke, mental diseases, cancer and multiple sclerosis. The most frequent valuation method applied was the opportunity cost method, followed by the proxy good method. The annual cost of informal care presented a high variability depending on the disease and geographic location. Distinguishing by type of illness, the disease with the highest annual value of informal caregiving was dementia, followed by mental illness and multiple sclerosis. The average hourly unit cost was €11.43 (2015 values), varying noticeably depending on the geographic location.
conclusionThis paper identifies several aspects that should be enhanced to promote comparability between studies and countries, and it sends key messages for incorporating informal care costs to adequately measure the economic impact of diseases.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.