"I Need Electricity to Live": An Analysis of GoFundMe Campaigns for Obstructive Lung Disease

RATIONALE: Raising money through online crowdfunding platforms is a popular way to pay for medical expenses. Analyzing medical crowdfunding campaigns can illuminate the financial struggles that patients and families face. Limited data exist on the financial impact of obstructive lung disease, which includes asthma, bronchiectasis, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). We examined the types of expenses for which patients with obstructive lung disease raise funds using the GoFundMe platform. METHODS: We collected a random sample of 89,645 United States-based GoFundMe campaigns posted from January 2010 to August 2020. We identified campaigns that contained the following word fragments: COPD, CPOD (allowing for misspellings), emphysema, smoker's lung, smoker lung, chronic bronchitis, asthma, inhaler, pulmonary rehab. Two coders reviewed each campaign in detail. Campaigns were included if they were for one adult with asthma, bronchiectasis, and/or COPD. We categorized financial needs using inductive summative content analysis. Codes included: disease, description of financial circumstances, expenses directly related to medical care (e.g., oxygen), and expenses indirectly related to medical care (e.g., transportation to appointments). RESULTS: We identified 184 campaigns, including people with asthma (n=144, 78%), COPD (n=49, 27%) and bronchiectasis (n=5, 3%), allowing for multiple diagnoses per patient. Half of the campaigns reported that the patient or caregiver had lost their job due to illness (n=92, 50%). One-third of campaigns (n=59, 32%) noted having insurance, while 14 campaigns (8%) mentioned being uninsured and 111 did not mention insurance (60%). Of 128 campaigns (70%) requesting money for expenses directly related to lung disease, 19% (n=35) were for hospital bills, 10% (n=19) for medications, and 3% (n=6) for oxygen. Almost half of campaigns described indirect expenses (n=88, 47%), including treatment-associated travel (n=14, 8%), food/groceries (n=16, 9%), home accessibility modifications (n=9, 5%), and utilities/electricity (n=6, 3%). Forty-five campaigns requested money for expenses directly (n=40, 22%) and indirectly (n=19, 10%) related to comorbidities, most commonly cancer, heart disease, and obesity. CONCLUSIONS: Crowdfunding campaigns detail the economic struggles of patients. Although there has been an emphasis on controlling the cost of inhalers, more common concerns in our sample were related to the cost of hospitalizations and everyday non-medical expenses. In future research, we will examine how different expenses contribute to financial need among patients with obstructive lung disease, especially among those who do not utilize crowdfunding. This information could inform future interventions aimed at mitigating financial burden in this patient population.

Duke Scholars

Author Cara L. McDermott Medicine, Geriatrics and Palliative Care