Variation in cost of informal caregiving and formal-service use for people with Alzheimer's desease

• Published in: American journal of Alzheimer's disease and other dementias 2004-09, Vol.19 (5), p.299-308
• Main Authors: Harrow, Brooke S., Mahoney, Diane F., Mendelsohn, Aaron B., Ory, Marcia G., Coon, David W., Belle, Steven H., Nichols, Linda O.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 1533-3175; 1938-2731
• DOI: 10.1177/153331750401900507

This study used a geographically diverse sample to estimate the total cost of informal care and formal services for community-residing Alzheimer's disease (AD) care recipients. Baseline data were used for 1200 family caregivers from the Resources for Enhancing Alzheimer's Caregiver Health (REACH) study, a multisite intervention trial. The replacement-wage-rate approach estimated informal cost. Formal services were assigned a cost based on secondary sources. Annual cost per care recipient amounted to $23,436 for informal care and $8,064 for formal services. Variation in informal cost was almost entirely due to instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs) assistance. Cross-site differences in cost persisted after controlling for caregiver and care-recipient characteristics. Geographic variation may suggest regional preferences or ethnic/cultural values. Further study is needed to determine whether this reflects differences in access or availability or how including a control group for care recipients with nondementia diagnoses might have affected these findings.