ArticleWestern journal of nursing research2025
Informal Caregiving: Health System Cost Implications.
Article in Western journal of nursing research, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.
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
5 citing papers in PubMed.
- Caring for Chosen Family: A Scoping Review of Clinical Work With Chosen Family.Family process · 2026Article
- Alberta Family Caregiver Strategy and Action Plan: Enhancing Integration Across Health and Social Care Systems.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2026Article
- Article
- Locked down, locked out: a cross-sectional study on experiences of intimate partner violence (IPV) and barriers to formal and informal support during COVID-19 lockdowns in Ontario.BMC public health · 2025Article
- Equipping Change Agents: Applying Mixed Methods to Learn About the Outcomes of the Co-Designed Caregiver-Centered Care Champions Education Program.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundInformal caregiving is seen as a low-cost substitute for care provided by health care professionals. However, caregiving is known to negatively impact caregivers' health and, subsequently, their health care use and costs. This could potentially offset the caregivers' contributions to the health care system.
objectiveWe examined the impact of caregiving on costs associated with caregivers' use of publicly funded health care services in Ontario, Canada, in comparison with non-caregivers.
methodsWe included Ontarians who participated in the Canadian Community Health Survey-Healthy Aging Supplement Survey of 2008/09 and linked responses to health care administrative databases. A difference-in-differences design was used to capture differences in caregivers' and non-caregivers' total health care costs 1 and 2 years before and after caregiving start date. Generalized Linear Models were used to model the total health care costs.
resultsThe sample size was 4275 with 1265 caregivers and 3010 non-caregivers. We found that while health care utilization increased over time, it increased by a lesser amount for caregivers than non-caregivers. Adjusted total health care costs for caregivers were 11.32% (SE = 0.05, ρ = 0.02) lower than non-caregivers 2 years into caregiving.
conclusionsOur study reveals a critical gap in policy, practice, and research driven by a lack of routine data collection and caregiver identification. It also highlights the need for additional longitudinal research focusing on caregivers' objective health.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
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.