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Quality of life and Economic Aspects of Community Support Programs for Caregivers of Dementia Patients

Department of Psychiatry, Sunnybrook Health Science Centre, University of Toronto, 2075 Bayview Avenue, Toronto, Ontario M4N 3M5 Canada.

This economic analysis of community programs for caregivers of dementia patients first reviews the clinical data on caregiver stress and the effectiveness of a variety of intervention programs. The authors then discuss issues relevant to the measurement of the true costs of specific community support programs and their impact on the quality of life of caregivers. Using cost data derived from other published studies, the authors conducted a cost-utility analysis using incremental costs per quality-adjusted life-year (QALY) gained. A sensitivity analysis of cost.-utility ratios reveals a range from $3,333 (1988 U.S. dollars) to $28,571 per QALY gained. Although this is comparable to other health care programs, community support programs for caregivers of dementia patients present special challenges for evaluation of outcome.