Direct and Indirect Costs of Disabilities in Children (BUDGET)

Having a child with a disability may leave families with significant additional costs. These imply expenditures for medicines, different types of equipment, transportation, housing, and outside help in the home. 

These may also include indirect costs due to loss of income, as it is relatively common for parents in this situation to work less than full time to be able to care for the child. In addition, to have a child with a disability seems to influence the parents’ health. 

The project makes use of register, survey and qualitative data. Based on such a mixed method approach, “Budget” takes into account both the income and the expenditure side. 

No other project has calculated the costs related to child disabilities in Norway. Thus, the results will provide useful insights relevant for policies to that aim reduce social inequality and that aim to develop a more inclusive working life. 

The researchers involved in «Budget» come from different disciplines such as economics, human geography, nursing, product design, social policy and sociology. 

The research group from OsloMet and the Norwegian Institute of Public Health collaborate with researcher from Syracuse University in the US, the National Institute of Research and Training on Disabilities and Adapted Teachings in France, the University of Antwerp in Belgium, and the National Institute for Health and Welfare in Finland. 

Moreover, the project relies on user expertise by actively involving representatives from the Norwegian Association of Disabled (NAD) and the Parents Association of Disabled Children.