Formal Home Care, Informal Support and Caregiver Health: Should Other People Care?

Abstract

In the context of an aging population, it is important to study informal caregivers who are the main providers of support for dependent elderly people. This work estimates how social support (i.e. informal support received from the family/social network, and formal home care) affects caregivers? general and mental health. To take into account potential endogeneity biases, instrumental variables models are estimated on a sample of?755 non-co-residing caregivers from the French Health and Disability Survey (2008-2009). The results show that an increase in formal care hours significantly reduces the probability that caregiving affects health and leads to sleep disorders or feelings of depression. Regarding informal support, an increase in the number of informal caregivers limits the risk that caregivers feel mental fatigue and experience palpitations/tachycardia or sleep disorders. This study highlights the importance of improving access to formal home care services and encouraging informal support and solidarity.