The economic cost of bereavement in Scotland

Audrey I. Stephen, Colin Macduff, Dennis J. Petrie, Fu-Min Tseng, Henk Schut, Silje Skår, Anne Corden, John Birrell, Shaolin Wang, Cate Newsom, Stewart Wilson

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleResearchpeer-review

39 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Aspects of the socioeconomic costs of bereavement in Scotland were estimated using 3 sets of data. Spousal bereavement was associated with increased mortality and longer hospital stays, with additional annual cost of around £20 million. Cost of bereavement coded consultations in primary care was estimated at around £2.0 million annually. In addition, bereaved people were significantly less likely to be employed in the year of and 2 years after bereavement than non-bereaved matched controls, but there were no significant differences in income between bereaved people and matched controls before and after bereavement.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)151-157
Number of pages7
JournalDeath Studies
Volume39
Issue number3
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 16 Mar 2015
Externally publishedYes

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