[More free time for me? Effects of a group intervention for informal caregivers based on routine data from the SVLFG long-term care insurance].

BACKGROUND

The intervention is a multiday health program of the Social Insurance for Agriculture, Forestry and Horticulture (SVLFG) for informal caregivers.

AIM OF THE WORK

Does the intervention increase the use of outside help to gain free time for self-care?

MATERIAL AND METHODS

Using a quasi-experimental within-design, we analyze annual benefit data from the SVLFG long-term care insurance for the cluster sample Bavaria from 2017 to 2020 with intervention in 2018/2019. Using fixed effects panel regressions, we determine the effect heterogeneity for care relationship, duration of care and degree of care, adjusting for period effects (intervention and comparison group: 88 and 6045 persons with 207 and 16,091 observations, respectively).

RESULT

After the intervention, the use of services for outside help tends to be higher than before. The effect is significantly more pronounced with increasing care level, care within the partnership and shorter care duration. With care within the partnership, start of care before 1 year and care level 4/5, more outside help is used afterwards for 1160 € (p < 0.001) than before.

DISCUSSION

Design and statistical method would allow a causal conclusion; however, in view of the limitations, in particular the small number of cases in the intervention group and the only limited characteristics available to control for time-dynamic heterogeneity, caution is advisable.