Economic burden of patients with chronic stroke related disorders living in the larger area around Basel (Switzerland) – an explorative cost-of-illness study

Aim/Background: The economic burden of care for stroke is high internationally and Switzerland is no exception. In 2010, the Swiss prevalence of stroke cases was 71,000, resulting in a total cost of 734 million €. The cost-of-illness of one stroke patient was 10,303 € and the costs increase in relation to the disability level. Moreover, the prevalence of comorbidities and the level of disability influenced the quality of life in patients with stroke-related disorders. The purpose of this study was to investigate direct (medical and non-medical) and indirect healthcare costs, comorbidities, level of disability and quality of life in the chronic stroke population of the Basel region over one year. Methods: The research team recruited 26 patients with chronic stroke-related disorders among patients visiting the REHAB Basel clinic and three private physiotherapy practices. This cost-of-illness study had a societal perspective. It estimated the direct and indirect costs and the prevalence of comorbidities using self-reported questionnaires. The modified Ranking Scale assessed the disability level. The European Quality-of-Life-5D questionnaire delineated the health state and the corresponding health utility index for participants. Results: Mean age of the 26 patients was 57 ± 10 years. The average total health costs of 87,010 CHF (standard deviation 51,292 CHF) for one year, observed in this sample, were higher than the average health costs in the general Swiss population and for other chronic pathologies in the same age category. Patients with stroke-related disorders caused high societal costs, mainly driven by indirect costs, such as productivity loss and informal care besides the important direct medical costs, like hospitalisation and medications. Participants presented mental (81%), cardiovascular (46%) and metabolic (38%) comorbidities, with an average consumption of six drugs per day. Health utilities were similar to those presented in other studies and lower than in the general Swiss population. Conclusions: Findings of this study suggest that the cost-of-illness of patients with stroke-related disorders in the Basel region is high compared to the general Swiss population data. Evidence-based long-term care in patients with stroke-related disorders, focusing on secondary and tertiary prevention and social integration, might help to contain healthcare costs and increase the quality of life in such patients. Keywords: Cost of Illness, Stroke, Neurological Physiotherapy, Public Health

Organizational unit

BFH - Physiotherapy

Type

Dataset

DOI

10.34914/olos:pxgnmxklkfektpzj4m3w4bcgle

License

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International

Keywords

Cost of Illness, Stroke, Quality of Life, Neurological Physiotherapy, Public Health, Absenteeism