Impact of home and leisure accident rates on disability and costs of long term care in Spain

Abstract

Home and leisure accidents are one of the main causes of mortality due to other causes than aging, and have a high impact on health systems. However, to date, the number of studies associated with measuring their socioeconomic impact is very limited, unlike those associated with other causes such as traffic accidents or work accidents. Our objective is to analyze the long-term care needs associated with home and leisure accidents (HLA) in Spain. We conclude that the care needs derived from these causes increase with age of people, with a high incidence in all those situations in which people see their mobility limited. The high socio-economic costs that result (approximately 781 million euros in 2016 in Spain for expenses in long-term care, 0.07% of the Gross Domestic Product) highlight the need to implement preventive policies. Taking into account the budgetary constraints that the public systems can have to address all costs, the development of insurance products that help to cover these specific situations could be justified