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Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program participation gaps within a pediatric leukemia clinical trial cohort
Rahela Aziz-Bose1,2,3,4, Colin Cernik1, Puja J Umaretiya5
1Department of Pediatric Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
Insights
Poverty-exposed children with cancer face worse outcomes. Increasing participation in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) during treatment can help reduce these health disparities.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Oncology
- Public Health Nutrition
- Health Disparities Research
Background:
- Children with cancer from low-income backgrounds experience poorer health outcomes.
- The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) can improve food security and child health.
- SNAP may help mitigate health disparities in pediatric cancer patients.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the eligibility and participation rates of families with children undergoing leukemia treatment in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
- To identify opportunities for interventions to increase SNAP participation among vulnerable pediatric cancer populations.
Main Methods:
- Secondary analysis of parent-reported data from a frontline pediatric leukemia clinical trial (NCT03020030).
- SNAP eligibility was proxied by participation in other means-tested programs.
- Data analyzed at diagnosis and at 6 months post-diagnosis.
Main Results:
- At diagnosis, 37% of families were SNAP-eligible, with 50% participation among eligible families.
- At 6 months, 41% of families were SNAP-eligible, with 57% participation.
- A significant proportion of eligible families were not participating in SNAP during childhood cancer treatment.
Conclusions:
- Interventions to boost SNAP participation during childhood cancer treatment are crucial.
- Increasing access to nutrition assistance can help reduce cancer-related health disparities.
- Addressing food insecurity is a key strategy for improving outcomes in pediatric cancer patients.
Abstract:
Poverty-exposed children with cancer are more likely to experience adverse outcomes. Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits improve food insecurity and child health outcomes, and could be used to mitigate disparities. We conducted a secondary analysis of parent-reported data collected in a frontline pediatric leukemia trial (NCT03020030) to assess SNAP eligibility (proxied by other means-tested program participation) and participation. At diagnosis, 105/287 families (37%) were SNAP-eligible, of whom 53 (50%) were SNAP participants. At 6 months, 104/257 families (41%) were SNAP-eligible, and 59 (57%) were SNAP participants. Interventions to increase benefits participation during childhood cancer treatment represent an immediate opportunity to reduce disparities.
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