Titel
Estimating Components and Costs of Standard Care for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder in Europe from a Large International Sample
Autor*in
Łucja Bieleninik
GAMUT—The Grieg Academy Music Therapy Research Centre, NORCE Norwegian Research Centre AS
Abstract
(1) Background: European guidelines provide recommendations for services and care for people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), but not all interventions are generally available. Knowledge of service use and costs and wider societal costs in Europe is limited; (2) Method: Using an international sample, we analysed services and costs in 357 children (4–6.99 years) with ASD based on parent reports. Costs were transformed into EU-28 average using purchasing power parity; (3) Results: 122 children (34%) received specialist autism services; 149 (42%) received sensory/motor therapy; 205 (57%) received speech/language therapy; 35 (10%) received play therapy; 55 (15%) received behavioural interventions; 31 (9%) received social skills training; 47 (13%) participated in therapeutic recreational activities; and 59 (17%) received other services. The total number of hours for these services combined over two months was M = 34 (SD = 63; range: 0 –372). Estimated total costs of health-related services were M = 1210 EUR (SD = 2160 EUR); indirect societal costs were M = 1624 EUR (SD = 1317 EUR). Regression analyses suggested that costs rise with age and presence of intellectual disabilities, but not with severity of autism; (4) Conclusions: The high extent of community-based services indicates good accessibility but also considerable variation in the receipt of services. The costs of autism services are considerable. Further research is needed to investigate whether services received match individual needs.
Stichwort
autismservicesdirect costsindirect costsfinancial burdenhealth economics
Objekt-Typ
Sprache
Englisch [eng]
Persistent identifier
Erschienen in
Titel
Brain Sciences
Band
11
Ausgabe
3
ISSN
2076-3425
Erscheinungsdatum
2021
Publication
MDPI AG
Erscheinungsdatum
2021
Zugänglichkeit
Rechte
Rechteangabe
© 2021 by the authors
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