Social and economic impacts of pediatric neurovascular surgery: Part 2 a quantitative study of parent experiences

INTRODUCTION: Pediatric neurovascular disease are chronic conditions affecting the neurovasculature. Prior research on chronic neurological conditions have demonstrated high direct and indirect costs, however the indirect costs for pediatric neurovascular diseases have not been quantified. This pilot study aims to quantify the economic and family impact of these conditions. METHODS: Parents of children who had neurovascular surgery at our institution (2022-2023) completed the Impact on Family Survey (IOFS) and the Work Productivity and Activity Impairment - General Health (WPAI-GH). IOFS scores were evaluated across five domains (financial, social, personal, coping, and sibling impact). WPAI-GH data were used to calculate presenteeism, absenteeism. Lost productivity costs were calculated using the human capital method. RESULTS: 6 parents were included. 75 % (4 of 6) reported that their child had emergency surgery. Mean time since surgery was 17.22 ± 5.2 months. The low average IOFS score indicated that families were largely impacted by neurovascular surgery. Of the five subcategories, participants coping was most impacted and siblings were the least impacted. Among employed caregivers, mean absenteeism was 5.97 % and presenteeism was 26.7 %. In terms of caregiving work-related productivity costs, $1488.80 were lost per month, $267.20 due to absenteeism and $1221.50 due to presenteeism. Annual total productivity costs were $17,865.80. CONCLUSION: Pediatric neurovascular disease has long-lasting impacts on caregivers and family life across multiple dimensions. While presenteeism results in high indirect costs, further research is needed to quantify and validate the impact on work productivity and family impact.