Faculty of Medicine.
Department of Paediatrics, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.
Hosp Pediatr. 2024 Apr 1;14(4):233-241. doi: 10.1542/hpeds.2023-007453.
In Canada and the United States, ∼1 in 5 children live in poverty, contributing to poor health outcomes. Families with children with chronic illness may experience additional financial stress related to hospitalization. This study aimed to capture experiences of financial needs and supports among caregivers with a child admitted to a tertiary care pediatric hospital to inform hospital-based financial services to reduce financial stress in families.
We recruited caregivers of children admitted to the general inpatient ward of an academic pediatric center using purposive sampling with no exclusion criteria. Individual, semistructured, in-depth interviews with participants were conducted. Data collected included socio-demographics, financial needs, and experiences with financial supports. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, coded, and analyzed on NVivo software using a modified-grounded theory approach and summative content analysis.
Fifteen caregivers of diverse backgrounds were interviewed, including non-English speakers (n = 4). Three themes and associated subthemes (in parentheses) were identified: (1) financial stress expressed by participants (acute admission-related and chronic financial stress), (2) challenges associated with accessing and utilizing financial supports (caregiver factors, systemic hospital factors, and systemic government factors), and (3) ideas for financial services at the pediatric hospital (services that will provide acute- and chronic financial assistance including education about financial supports and benefits).
Our study highlighted acute and chronic financial needs as well as challenges in accessing financial support. Participants were interested in the healthcare system gaining a comprehensive understanding of their financial circumstances and accessing financial services in a hospital setting.
在加拿大和美国，约有 1/5 的儿童生活贫困，这导致他们的健康状况较差。有慢性病儿童的家庭可能会因住院而面临额外的经济压力。本研究旨在了解在为孩子住院的看护者的经济需求和支持方面的经验，以便为医院提供财务服务，减轻家庭的经济压力。
我们通过有目的的抽样，对一家学术儿科中心普通住院病房的看护者进行了招募，没有排除标准。对参与者进行了个体、半结构化、深入的访谈。收集的数据包括社会人口统计学信息、经济需求以及经济支持的体验。访谈内容进行了录音、逐字转录、编码，并使用 NVivo 软件基于修正的扎根理论方法和总结性内容分析进行分析。
我们对 15 名来自不同背景的看护者进行了访谈，其中包括非英语母语者（n=4）。确定了三个主题和相关的子主题（括号中）：（1）参与者表达的经济压力（与急性入院相关的和慢性经济压力）；（2）获取和利用经济支持方面的挑战（看护者因素、医院系统因素和政府系统因素）；（3）儿科医院财务服务的想法（提供急性和慢性经济援助的服务，包括有关财务支持和福利的教育）。
我们的研究强调了急性和慢性经济需求以及获取经济支持方面的挑战。参与者希望医疗保健系统全面了解他们的财务状况，并在医院环境中获得财务服务。
