FINANCIAL COSTS FACED BY CAREGIVERS
The study had considered the direct and indirect costs faced by caregivers.
Direct costs refer to tangible, out-of-pocket expenses such as medical bills, supplies, transport and professional caregiving services.
On the other hand, indirect costs capture unpaid caregiving time, such as the hours spent providing supervision or household support.
Speaking at the study’s launch at Temasek Shophouse on Tuesday, Chairman of Dementia Singapore Dr Philip Yap said one aspect of dementia care that is often overlooked is that people with dementia often suffer from “a whole host” of other medical issues such as arthritis, hypertension and diabetes.
“The cost is also significant. So that needs to be considered in the total cost of caregiving,” he said.
“By quantifying both financial and time costs, we’re able to shed light on the often unseen challenges and sacrifices faced by those caring for persons with dementia in Singapore,” said Ms Eugenia Chung, Asia’s research lead of data and insights at Pureprofile.
Out-of-pocket medical expenses were the most common direct costs incurred by caregivers of people with dementia, with 80 per cent reporting such spending.
Transport costs were the second-highest contributor, affecting around 73 per cent of caregivers.
With spending on supplies and equipment being the third most common expense, findings also showed that spending rose sharply with the severity of the condition, from 34 per cent at the mild stage to 82 per cent at the severe stage.
Other notable expenses include the hiring of a foreign domestic worker, professional caregiving or respite care services, home modification for safety or accessibility, and the reduced or loss of income due to caregiving responsibilities.
The study found that caregivers of dementia patients, in general, reported a median monthly direct cost of almost S$1,300 before subsidies.
The biggest expense was the reduced or loss of income due to caregiving responsibilities, estimated at around S$2,000 a month, followed by foreign domestic worker levy and support (S$700), and professional caregiving or respite service (S$575).
“These findings highlight how the financial toll of dementia care extends well beyond medical expenses, encompassing the broader economic sacrifices caregivers make to provide sustained support,” said Dementia Singapore.
After subsidies were factored in, median direct costs dropped by more than half from S$1,290 to S$447.50 a month.
“By making caregiving significantly more affordable, subsidies ensure that caregivers can focus on the well-being of one living with dementia and themselves, instead of worrying about managing monthly costs,” said Dementia Singapore.
In terms of indirect costs, the study considered the opportunity cost of lost income by households caring for someone who has dementia.
This is because researchers recognised that caregivers spend hours providing personal care, supervision or household support, and sought to impute the value of such unpaid work.
On average, caregivers spend about nine days a month on dementia care.
Caring for someone with young-onset dementia, a condition diagnosed before the age of 65, takes 258 hours.
Caregivers of individuals in the moderate stage of dementia spend about 243 hours providing care, while those supporting someone in the severe stage spend around 292 hours.
Dementia care includes duties like toilet visits, eating, housekeeping, transportation, financial matters and supervision of the person’s safety, among others.
Valued against household wages, this caregiving time equates to a median of S$1,218.75 per month, said the agency.
The report also showed that an average of 83 hours was spent on supervision to prevent dangerous events, 70 hours on daily care such as toilet visits and eating, and about 63 hours on housekeeping, transportation, taking medication and financial matters.
The study also revealed that caregivers slept an average of 6.1 hours a day.
This is consistent across early and non-early onset of diagnosis, with those caring for those with severe dementia sleeping slightly less than 6 hours a day.
