SynthesisInternational journal for equity in health2025
Health inequities in medical crowdfunding: a systematic review.
Synthesis in International journal for equity in health, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed.
- Online Social Interaction, Neighborhood Perception, and the Mediating Role of Social Capital in Charitable Giving for Seriously Ill Patients: Cross-Sectional Study.Journal of medical Internet research · 2026Article
- Stress and Support Present in Medical Crowdfunding in Pediatric Cancer.Cancer reports (Hoboken, N.J.) · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundMedical crowdfunding has emerged as a popular strategy to offset healthcare expenses in contexts of limited insurance coverage. While often framed as a democratizing and accessible financial tool, growing evidence indicates that success is unevenly distributed, raising concerns about its role in exacerbating health inequities.
methodsA systematic review was conducted in accordance with PRISMA guidelines, drawing from PubMed, CINAHL, Embase, Web of Science, and Scopus. Of 1,462 screened records, 33 studies met the inclusion criteria. Guided by the PROGRESS framework, we extracted data on socioeconomic determinants of health disparities. An inductive content analysis was employed to identify how equity was assessed across studies.
resultsWe identified three key categories of metrics used to assess equity in medical crowdfunding: funding outcomes, campaign visibility, and donor participation. Across these domains, substantial disparities were observed. Campaigns in rural or economically disadvantaged areas tended to have lower success rates. Racial and ethnic inequities were consistently documented, with non-white individuals receiving fewer and smaller donations than white counterparts. Gender disparities were complex, especially in transgender-related campaigns. Socioeconomic status and educational attainment were significantly associated with outcomes, accompanied by differences in access to social capital and the ability to craft persuasive narratives. In regions with high medical debt or limited insurance coverage, more crowdfunding campaigns appeared, but with lower overall success. These inequities were shaped and reinforced by platform algorithms and design features that privileged users with preexisting advantages.
conclusionsRather than serving as a corrective to healthcare access gaps, medical crowdfunding often reflects and reinforces structural inequities. These findings challenge its portrayal as an equitable financing solution and highlight the need for policy interventions to ensure fairer access to healthcare resources.
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What Socratic holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.