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By Lisa Rapaport
(Reuters Health) – Children with life-threatening illness who receive a gift from the Make-a-Wish Foundation may have lower hospitalization costs than sick children who do not receive not these gifts, according to an American study.
Make-a-Wish organizes experiments or "wishes" for children with life-threatening or limiting disease.
The researchers compared unplanned hospitalizations and emergency visits to 496 patients from the Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, and from a control group of 496 children with similar illnesses who did not receive a wish.
Compared to children who did not receive a vow, children who were 2.5 times more likely to have their number of unexpected hospitalizations decreased the following year, and 1.9 times more likely of risks to end up in an emergency room the study revealed visits from the previous year to the following year.
Overall, 62% of children who received "wishes" had lower loads in the second year than in the first year, as did 42% of children who did not receive "wishes".
"For the first time, we are able to quantify the impact of a" wish "by using data on the use of health care such as visits to the emergency, hospitalizations and costs, "said Dr. Anup Patel, lead author of the study at Nationwide Children's.
"This is of importance to patients and their families because we have shown that a" wish "could allow the patient to return home with his family, not to miss school. and save money for families in healthcare costs, "Patel said via email.
The average cost of a wish at the national level is $ 10,130, which covers expenses related to the desire experience, including overhead costs and staffing requirements, the researchers note in the journal Pediatrics Research.
The researchers looked at the total hospitalization costs of children who received wishes and those who did not, and examined the cases, whether these costs were equal to or greater than the typical cost of living. 39, a wish of $ 10,130.
A higher percentage of children who received "wishes" had lower health costs than the experiences or gifts they received. The researchers conclude that this suggests that an additional benefit of the Make-a-Wish program may be a reduction in hospital costs or a reduction in medical expenses.
"We do not really know why we saw these results," Patel said.
"However, I wonder if a wish allows a patient to be more in touch with his family and his medical team where he is more involved in his care and eventually more adherent to the treatments," added Patel. "Plus, I think it's beneficial for health to live positive experiences such as a dream that makes them happier."
Further research is still needed to verify these findings and understand why "wishes" could help reduce health use or health spending, Patel warned.
When parents think that children could benefit from special experiences that prevent them from thinking that they are sick but can not get a "formal wish", they can always try other solutions.
"If" wishes "are not possible, I recommend taking sick breaks where kids can be kids," said Patel.
"It does not have to be an expensive trip, it can be play time or family fun," said Patel. "We may be able to see the same results, but I'm not sure."
SOURCE: https://go.nature.com/2BbKjQj Pediatric Research, online October 18, 2018.
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