Economic Evaluation of Emotional and Personal Support in the Health Care of Women with Disabilities

It is generally accepted that people with disabilities make greater use of health services. Moreover, certain social circumstances alter the intensity of such use. This manuscript seeks to analyze the existing differences in the use of healthcare among women with and without disabilities, to study the impact of emotional and personal support (EPS) on such use and to assess the reduction of the economic cost that this factor entails. Data from the Spanish National Health Survey (SNHS-2017) and updated unit costs of health services have been used to estimate the differences in use attributable to disability and the economic impact of emotional and personal support. The empirical results show an association between disability and perceived EPS, the latter being less common among Spanish women with disabilities. In addition, within this group, EPS significantly influences the levels of use of health services. Finally, the net effect of a perceived EPS increase would translate into a reduction in the economic costs of health care for women with disabilities.