A conceptual framework for understanding financial burden during serious illness

Area of Science:

• Health Economics
• Patient and Family Support
• Healthcare Management

Background:

• Life-threatening illnesses impose significant financial strain on families due to increased care-related expenses.
• The concept of financial burden in serious illness lacks comprehensive exploration and a clear conceptual description in existing literature.
• Current research often focuses on objective financial measures, neglecting subjective and conceptual aspects of financial burden.

Purpose of the Study:

• To synthesize empirical literature on financial burden among patients and families dealing with serious illness.
• To develop a comprehensive, multidimensional theoretical framework for understanding financial burden.
• To redefine financial burden based on an empirically derived model.

Main Methods:

• Systematic synthesis of existing scientific literature on financial burden.
• Application of Jabareen's phased approach for building conceptual frameworks.
• Development of an empirically derived model illustrating multidimensional financial burden factors.

Main Results:

• Definitions of financial burden show overlapping similarities but also inconsistencies.
• Financial burden is influenced by illness trajectories and duration.
• Identified key factors of financial burden: objective, coping, and subjective dimensions.

Conclusions:

• Patients and caregivers primarily experience objective financial burden, followed by subjective impressions.
• Coping skills play a crucial role in reducing the subjective aspects of financial burden.
• A redefined, multidimensional model of financial burden is proposed for patients with life-threatening illnesses and their caregivers.