Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder: The Caring and Financial Burden to Caregivers—A Scoping Review

Abstract

Introduction: Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) is a lifelong neurodisability caused by exposure to alcohol in utero. It can have a severe impact on the affected child as well as their families, yet the costs associated are unclear. This scoping review sought to identify the costs associated with raising a child with FASD. Methods: A database search was conducted in July 2024 on PubMed, Scopus, Ovid Medline and Web of Science, searching for all empirical research on the “cost” to “caregivers” of raising a child with “FASD”. Articles were excluded if they did not outline the costs of FASD, or the effects of prenatal alcohol exposure, or if they did not contain parent/caregiver response. After the removal of duplicates, 421 unique articles were found based on the search criteria. Just three articles met the inclusion/exclusion criteria. Two additional publications were identified through citation checking. Thus, five articles were included in this review. Thematic analysis was used to interpret the findings and synthesise the results. Results: Personal costs ranged between USD$198.13-CAD$6215,27 per person per year. These articles identified that parents incurred costs related to medical care, education, social services, productivity losses, externalising behaviours, other direct costs to the family, and psychosocial impacts on families. Differences were considered in relation to the child's age, age at the time of diagnosis, severity of disability, relationship to caregiver, location, and other demographic factors. Discussion and Conclusions: More research is needed to provide a more accurate estimate of the cost of raising a child with FASD.