Myocardial infarction: Economic, health, and social impacts on informal caregivers.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of the study was to measure the economic impact of informal care (IC) on caregivers assisting myocardial infarction (MI) survivors in France. Health and social impacts were also described.

METHODS: Data from the prospective 2008 Health and Disabilities Households Survey (Enquête Handicap-Santé), carried out among the French general population, were used to obtain information about patients with MI and their informal caregivers. To estimate the approximate monetary value of IC, three methods were used: the proxy good method, opportunity cost method (OCM), and contingent valuation method (CVM). A multivariate analysis was performed to determine the associations of the IC duration and the existence of professional care with the health indicators stated by caregivers.

RESULTS: The analysis included data from 147 caregivers. The mean value of IC ranged from €9,679 per year using the CVM to €11,288 per year using the OCM (p > .05). The mean willingness to pay for an additional hour of IC was €10.9 (SD = 8.3). A total of 46.2 percent of caregivers reported that IC negatively affected theirs physical condition, and 46.3 percent reported that it negatively affected their psychological health. In addition, 40.1 percent declared that caregiving activity made them anxious and 38.8 percent stated they felt alone. Associations were identified between the duration of IC and feeling the need to be replaced, feeling alone and making sacrifices (p < .05).

CONCLUSIONS: Informal caregiver burden may be recognized in health technology assessment in order not to underestimate the cost of strategies and to facilitate the comparability of cost-effectiveness outcomes between studies.