Hallgren Emily, Thompson Tess, Moore Ramey, Ayers Britni L, Purvis Rachel S, McElfish Pearl A
College of Medicine, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Northwest, 2708 S. 48 St., Springdale, AR 72762, USA.
Brown School, Washington University, One Brookings Drive, St. Louis, MO 63130, USA.
SSM Qual Res Health. 2023 Jun;3. doi: 10.1016/j.ssmqr.2023.100285. Epub 2023 May 16.
Rural women with cancer are at heightened risk of financial toxicity. Financial assistance is an important, yet underexamined, aspect of how patients with cancer cope with financial toxicity. This study aims to examine the types of financial assistance rural women with cancer received during cancer treatment and how they described the impact of that assistance.
Using data from interviews with 36 rural women with cancer histories, this study used a qualitative descriptive design to explore the types of financial assistance participants received during cancer treatment.
Participants described two forms of financial assistance they received: informal and formal financial assistance. Informal financial assistance was provided by social networks and local communities and included cash support, community fundraisers, and in-kind donations. Formal financial assistance was provided by healthcare systems and charitable organizations and included resource navigation and cash grants. Both forms of financial assistance were helpful for many patients with cancer; however, not all participants who needed financial assistance received it.
Informal and formal financial assistance are significant forms of support for some rural women undergoing cancer treatment. However, such support is unequally distributed and may exacerbate existing inequalities. Financial assistance is not an adequate substitute for public policy that reduces the economic toll of cancer treatment on patients.
患有癌症的农村妇女面临财务毒性的风险更高。经济援助是癌症患者应对财务毒性方式中一个重要但未得到充分研究的方面。本研究旨在调查患有癌症的农村妇女在癌症治疗期间获得的经济援助类型，以及她们如何描述这种援助的影响。
本研究采用定性描述性设计，利用对36名有癌症病史的农村妇女的访谈数据，探索参与者在癌症治疗期间获得的经济援助类型。
参与者描述了她们获得的两种形式的经济援助：非正式和正式经济援助。非正式经济援助由社交网络和当地社区提供，包括现金支持、社区筹款和实物捐赠。正式经济援助由医疗系统和慈善组织提供，包括资源引导和现金补助。两种形式的经济援助对许多癌症患者都有帮助；然而，并非所有需要经济援助的参与者都得到了援助。
非正式和正式经济援助是一些接受癌症治疗的农村妇女的重要支持形式。然而，这种支持分配不均，可能会加剧现有的不平等。经济援助并不能充分替代减少癌症治疗对患者经济负担的公共政策。
