COIOS
Healthcare today Item confirms peer-reviewed

Families of children with cancer report debt and a lasting loss of household security

A meta-aggregation of 14 qualitative studies covering 524 participants, mostly parents of children with cancer in seven countries, found financial strain built from medical costs, lost earnings and thin insurance, with outside help and household reorganisation giving only partial relief.

A qualitative systematic review synthesised 14 studies of 524 participants, predominantly parents of children treated for cancer in seven countries, using JBI meta-aggregation. Its 38 findings fell into three groups, namely accumulating direct and indirect costs alongside disrupted employment and inadequate insurance, the resulting debt and reduced living standards, and coping through outside help and reorganising life around treatment. That coping relieved the burden only partly.

Why it is interesting: It records the household economic consequences of paediatric cancer treatment, which survival and mortality statistics do not capture.

Source
Supportive Care in Cancer, 20 September 2026
DOI
10.1007/s00520-026-11232-6
Type
Peer-reviewed article
Design
Qualitative systematic review with JBI meta-aggregation; 14 studies, 524 participants, seven countries, searched to May 2025
Verdict
Confirms prior evidence
Driver
Cancer