Cost of informal care for older people in the northern region of Portugal: application of the proxy-good method

Abstract

The present study aims to quantify and value informal care provided to older people living at home in the northern region of Portugal. Data were obtained from five community-based research and intervention projects conducted between 2009 and 2014. The economic evaluation method applied was the proxy-good method, which estimates time spent on informal care using labour market prices of the most similar professional activity. The informal caregiver substitute adopted was the home care assistant, with an average hourly wage of €3.26. In the total sample (n=384), 50% of caregivers provided care 24 hours per day. Considering the median number of caregiving hours, results indicate a valuation of informal care of €78 per day and €2,347 per month, a value far exceeding the national minimum wage, highlighting the potential economic value of informal care in family life and society.