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Multicenter Study
. 2016 Sep;51(9):1233-40.
doi: 10.1038/bmt.2016.103. Epub 2016 Apr 18.

Financial impact of allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation on patients and families over 2 years: results from a multicenter pilot study

E M Denzen  1 , V Thao  2 , T Hahn  3 , S J Lee  4 , P L McCarthy  3 , J D Rizzo  5 , M Ammi  6 , R Drexler  6 , S Flesch  6 , H James  1 , N Omondi  7 , E Murphy  1 , K Pederson  1 , N S Majhail  8
Affiliations
Multicenter Study

Financial impact of allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation on patients and families over 2 years: results from a multicenter pilot study

E M Denzen et al. Bone Marrow Transplant. 2016 Sep.

Abstract

Hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) is a procedure that can significantly influence the socioeconomic wellbeing of patients, caregivers and their families. Among 30 allogeneic HCT recipients and their caregivers enrolled on a pilot study evaluating the feasibility of studying financial impact of HCT, 16 agreed to participate in the long-term phase, completed a baseline questionnaire and received phone interviews at 6, 12, 18 and 24 months post HCT. Analyses showed that by 2 years post HCT, 54% of patients who previously contributed to household earnings had not returned to work and 80% of patients/caregivers reported transplant as having moderate to great impact on household income. However, patients' levels of confidence in their abilities to meet household financial obligations increased from baseline to 2 years. A relatively large proportion of patients reported inability to pay for medical care through this time period. Case studies demonstrated that patients' individual perceptions of the financial impact of HCT varies considerably, regardless of actual income. We demonstrate the feasibility of conducting a study to evaluate the financial impact of allogeneic HCT through 2 years post transplantation. Some patients/caregivers continue to experience a significant long-term financial burden after this procedure. Our study lays the foundation for a larger evaluation of patient/caregiver financial burden associated with HCT.

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Conflict of interest statement

None of the authors has a relevant conflict of interest to disclose

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Proportion of patients and caregivers who were working as primary or secondary wage earners pre-transplantation and through 2 years post-transplantation (if applicable, both patients and caregivers could report themselves as primary wage earners)
Figure 2
Figure 2
Impact of transplant on household income over time (left panel) and patient/caregiver confidence in meeting household financial obligations (right panel) (N=15 pre-HCT, 15 at 12 months, and 14 at 24 months)
Figure 3
Figure 3
Agreement with select Socioeconomic Wellbeing Scale items on financial issues experienced by cancer patients
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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