Family Economic Burden Associated to Caring for Children with Cancer.

OBJECTIVES: This work sought to determine the family economic burden associated with caring for the child with cancer.

METHODS: Descriptive study with quantitative approach. The sample comprised 50 families of children with cancer attending a foundation in Bogotá (Colombia), which accompanies integrally children with lupus and cancer from a vulnerable population (providing food, psychological and spiritual advice, lodging, transportation and education). An identification file was employed to characterize the subjects and the Survey "Financial cost of caring for Chronic illness" by Montoya et al. The analysis was performed through the methodology "Economic burden attributable to caring for a person with chronic illness in Colombia" (CARACOL, for the term in Spanish), which quantifies the level of burden in sexagesimal degrees and the financial cost of the burden; a higher number of sexagesimal degrees indicate a higher level of economic burden.

RESULTS: Families of children with cancer have a high economic burden, in particular in transportation (28.5°), communications (26.3°), health (20.8°), housing (19.7°), and food (17.4°).

CONCLUSIONS: The families have a high economic burden associated with caring for the child with cancer. It is necessary to implement social support strategies to these families to keep the economic burden from interfering with adherence to treatment and, hence, with the child's survival.