Estimating the Lifetime Informal Care Costs in Stroke: A Model-Based Analysis

AIM: Stroke is a chronic ailment that poses a significant global public health challenge, with many patients experiencing ongoing disability with caregivers playing an important role in the care. This study aims to evaluate the lifetime cost of informal care in stroke using data from the A Very Early Rehabilitation Trial after stroke (AVERT) trial across five countries and explore the factors impacting the informal care hours. METHOD AND RESULTS: A Markov model was developed to simulate the cost and clinical consequences following a stroke in TreeAge Pro 2021® (TreeAge Software, Inc., Williamstown, MA, USA). Data was sourced from AVERT trial and publicly available literature. Informal care cost was calculated using the opportunity cost method and sensitivity analysis was conducted. The lifetime informal care cost was US$46,588 (A$75,142)/4.59 (life years) LY, US$19,095 (RM86,797)/3.56 LY, US$41,186 (NZ$73,546)/4.35 LY, US$72,931 (SG$98,556)/5.68 LY, and US$76,925£62,036)/4.33 LY for Australia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore and the UK. CONCLUSION: Our study highlights the need for evaluation of informal care as well as factors impacting informal care costs in stroke management. The results from our study provide key inputs for policymakers, healthcare service innovators, and those designing new treatments for stroke.