LCHE seminar - Diana Pacheco (University of Lucerne)

Long-term care (LTC), as it is currently organized, will be unable to cope with the increasing care needs of the population. Currently, one in seven people worldwide experiences some form of disability, with nearly 20% facing severe limitations. This situation is no different in Switzerland, where the increasing prevalence of non-communicable diseases places disability at the core of public health concerns and straining health and social systems. Expanding LTC is essential yet challenging to address because, besides being expensive, it already faces a workforce shortage. One solution to expanding care provision is to examine the role of family members in the caregiving process. However, much of their work remains invisible and unrecognized as it occurs within the family environment. This project aimed to investigate the contributions of family caregivers in providing long-term care in Switzerland, particularly in high-disability contexts such as paraplegia/tetraplegia (SCI). By examining the nature and extent of their caregiving responsibilities, we estimated the economic value of their work to assess the cost-effectiveness of alternative care options.