Schizophrenia impacts all aspects of not only the afflicted person’s life but also of those around them. While the social and emotional costs of schizophrenia may be discussed at large, the financial costs of schizophrenia for an individual and community need due attention as well.
Schizophrenia only afflicts 1.1% of the US population but still amounts to a disproportionately large economic burden for both the individual and the government (Rice). In 2002, it was estimated that the total economic cost of schizophrenia was over $50 billion—with only $23 billion being attributed to direct medical costs and treatments (Wu et al. 1122) . Of the $33 billion of indirect costs generated by schizophrenia—the costs of unemployment of people with schizophrenia, the subsequent government programs (such as welfare and homeless shelters), and loss of productivity were major contributing factors (Wu et al. 1122) .
While it is important to highlight the nation-wide costs of schizophrenia, the bleak economic prospects for schizophrenics cannot be neglected. Of a sample of 1400 people afflicted with schizophrenia, 73% of participants reported little to no employment activity—they had no work or source of income (Robert et al. 411). Due to the symptoms of their illnesses- such as paranoia and hallucinations- people with schizophrenia find most employment opportunities closed off to them. Without a proper income, many people with schizophrenia and other mental illnesses drop out of the work force and find themselves on the street without proper housing or care.
Due to the the loss of economic opportunities—several people with schizophrenia find themselves chronically homeless without any prospects of economic or social mobility. It is within the homeless population that the financial impacts of schizophrenia and other mental illnesses become particularly prominent. In America, 20-25% of single homeless adults report suffering from severe or chronic mental illness (Ovsiew, 319) . Regarding schizophrenia specifically, 10%-13% of the population suffers from the illness—ten times the rate found in the average U.S population (Ovsiew, 324) . Now they are receiving support via government programs and homeless shelters, incurring higher costs to the community while still having no economic opportunities or social mobility being made available to them to their mental disorder..
While costs of the illness can be reduced with early and effective treatment, it would be wrong to pretend like the is a sole solution for the multitude of issues presented by schizophrenia in America today. What needs to be highlighted are the social, emotional, and financial impacts of mental illness on an individual and society as a whole. One way or another, we’re all involved and we’re in this together.
References:
1) Ovsiew, Fred. Neuropsychiatry and Mental Health Services. American Psychiatric Press. Accessed March 14th, 2014.
2) DP, Rice. “The Economic Impact of Schizophrenia. Institute for Health & Aging”, University of California at San Francisco. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10037163. Retrieved March 15th, 2014.
3) Wu, Eric, et al. “The economic burden of schizophrenia in the United States in 2002”. J Clin Psychiatry. September, 2005. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16187769 . Retrieved March 14th, 2014.
4) Robert Rosenheck, CATIE Study Investigators Group, Douglas Leslie, Richard Keefe, Joseph McEvoy, Marvin Swartz, Diana Perkins, Scott Stroup, John K. Hsiao, Jeffrey Lieberman; Barriers to Employment for People With Schizophrenia. American Journal of Psychiatry. 2006 Mar;163(3):411-417. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16187769. Retrieved March 14th, 2014