Crowdfunding for stroke: a national analysis

Abstract

Background: Stroke imposes an enormous economic burden on patients and caregivers. Online crowdfunding is widely used to address healthcare costs, reflecting social safety net gaps, yet it has not been studied for stroke. We performed the first national analysis of stroke-related crowdfunding, evaluating fund totals, success rates, geography, and stroke etiology.

Methods: We analyzed GoFundMe campaigns (2011-2020) along with socioeconomic data on metropolitan residency, median incomes, cost of living, and Flesch-Kincaid readability. Primary outcomes included total funds raised and funding success rate, assessed with univariable and multivariable regression.

Results: 10 672 stroke-related campaigns sought $245 843 953 and raised $81 053 044 (median (IQR) $3870 ($887-$6853)); 15.3% met their goal. California ($9 596 254; 1164 campaigns), Texas ($5 275 765; 890 campaigns), and Florida ($5 307 649; 755 campaigns) raised the most funds and had the most campaigns. Hemorrhagic strokes predominated (69.2%, 7307 campaigns). The cohort had a higher percentage of metropolitan residents (17.9%, 95% CI 17.73% to 18.07%, P<0.001) and greater mean household income ($89 481.90, 95% CI $88 900.26 to $90 063.54, P<0.001) than national estimates (17.1% and $75 141.20). Multivariable regression found description length (β 0.34, 95% CI 0.23 to 0.42, P<0.001) and social media likes (β 85.23, 95% CI 82.35 to 88.12, P<0.001), but not shares (β -0.66, 95% CI -1.16 to -0.16, P<0.01), correlated with raising more funds.

Conclusions: This study is the first national analysis of crowdfunding for stroke expenses. We found significant funding requests and identified factors influencing success. Compared with national estimates, we find that crowdfunding campaigns in this cohort originate from counties with a greater proportion of metropolitan residents and a greater household income with greater cost of living.

Keywords: Economics; Stroke.