Faculty of Health Sciences and Medicine, University of Lucerne, Frohburgstrasse 3, 6002, Lucerne, Switzerland.
Swiss Paraplegic Research, Guido A. Zäch Str. 4, 6207, Nottwil, Switzerland.
BMC Health Serv Res. 2023 Jun 22;23(1):676. doi: 10.1186/s12913-023-09565-7.
Family members are key in the provision of care to persons facing disability. To undertake the role as caregivers, they face many costs, being the setback in the labor market one of the most relevant.
We analyze comprehensive data from long-term family caregivers of persons with spinal cord injury (SCI) in Switzerland. Using information about their working situation before and after becoming caregivers, we estimated the reduction in working hours and the associated income loss.
On average, family caregivers reduced their working hours by about 23% (8.4 h per week), which has a monetary value of CHF 970 per month (EUR 845). Women, older caregivers, and less educated caregivers have a much higher opportunity cost in the labor market: CHF 995 (EUR 867), CHF 1,070 (EUR 932), and CHF 1,137 (EUR 990) respectively. In contrast, family members who care for a person that works have a much lower impact on their working status, CHF 651 (EUR 567). Interestingly, the reduction in their working time is only a third of the extra work they face as caregivers.
Health and social systems rely on the unpaid work of family caregivers. To guarantee their long-term involvement, family caregivers need to be recognized for their work and potentially compensated. Without family caregivers, it is very unlikely societies can cope with the increasing need for care, as professional services are limited and expensive.
家庭成员是为面临残疾的人提供护理的关键。为了承担照顾者的角色，他们面临着许多成本，其中劳动力市场的挫折是最相关的。
我们分析了瑞士脊髓损伤（SCI）患者长期家庭照顾者的综合数据。使用有关他们在成为照顾者前后工作情况的信息，我们估计了工作时间减少和相关收入损失。
平均而言，家庭照顾者减少了大约 23%的工作时间（每周 8.4 小时），这每月的货币价值为 970 瑞士法郎（845 欧元）。女性、年长的照顾者和受教育程度较低的照顾者在劳动力市场上的机会成本更高：分别为 995 瑞士法郎（867 欧元）、1070 瑞士法郎（932 欧元）和 1137 瑞士法郎（990 欧元）。相比之下，照顾有工作的人的家庭成员对其工作状况的影响要小得多，为 651 瑞士法郎（567 欧元）。有趣的是，他们工作时间的减少仅占他们作为照顾者所面临的额外工作的三分之一。
卫生和社会系统依赖于家庭照顾者的无偿工作。为了保证他们的长期参与，需要承认家庭照顾者的工作并可能给予补偿。如果没有家庭照顾者，社会很难应对日益增长的护理需求，因为专业服务有限且昂贵。
