Research project Labour market and health outcomes in adults with a family member who has a chronic illness
A substantial number of spouses and offspring experience a family member with an illness while they remain working. The diagnoses of the patient reverberate in the family and cause substantial distress for the relatives.
A substantial number of spouses and offspring (hereafter called relatives) experience a family member with an illness while they remain working. The diagnoses of the patient reverberate in the family and cause substantial distress for the relatives.
Thus, the illness in the patient have potential implications to adverse health and employment for the relatives. In recent decades in Sweden, earlier hospital discharge became more common and social care provision declined. Therefore, working-age relatives have to increasingly deal with family member’s illness while they remain in work-force. However, research into relatives’ health and employment outcomes has been scarce. Home help and institutional care may alleviate adverse consequences, but the impact of social services have hardly been studied.
Project description
Using Swedish national register data for health, social/demographic and social benefits/care with information from 1990 to 2018, we will examine employment and health outcomes in relatives to a patient who were diagnosed with cancer, dementia, cardiovascular disease, depression or diseases that limits mobility, such as Parkinson’s disease. Observation will start from the time before the patient’s diagnosis and continue across life of relatives. Employment outcomes will include sick leave, unemployment and income. Depression, cardiovascular diseases, injury and mortality in the relatives will be examined as health outcomes. The use of home help and institutional care services, its differences by region, and the roles of the social services on the relative’s employment and health outcomes will be assessed. Differences in the associations by sex, socioeconomic position and ethnicity will be examined.
The results will provide information for improving the likelihood of maintaining work and health among relatives when a family member falls ill. In this way, we aim to help to create a society resilient to an ageing population with limited resources.
Project members
Project managers
Ayako Hiyoshi
Guest Researcher
Members
Katja Fall
Professor
Alessandra Grotta
Researcher
Scott Montgomery
Professor
Mikael Rostila
Professor
