Occupational therapy is Worthwhile

For every euro spent on the treatment of community dwelling elderly with dementia by an occupational therapist, society receives 7.40-11.80 euros. Treating all registered community dwelling dementia patients and their informal caregivers yields net social benefits of € 140 million to € 236 million per year. Important benefits are higher quality of life for patients and their caregivers and a net saving on healthcare costs.For every euro spent on the treatment of children with writing problems, society receives 1.60-1.70 euros. Treating all 6-year old children with handwriting problems yields net social benefits of € 3.8 million to € 12.3 million over the (working) lives of these children. The calculated gain includes only the child’s higher productivity due to scoring better in arithmetic tests; other benefits, such as a possible improvement in their quality of life, were not included in the calculations as they could not be quantified.