A Conceptual Model of Financial Toxicity in Pediatric Oncology

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to explicate a conceptual framework for financial toxicity in pediatric oncology to guide nursing practice and research. The framework is based on one for financial outcomes of severe illness attributed to Scott Ramsey and adapted by the National Cancer Institute to describe relationships between preexisting factors, a cancer diagnosis, financial distress, and health outcomes for adult cancer patients and survivors. The adaption for pediatric oncology was informed by the results of a systematic scoping review to identify advances and gaps in the recent literature about the personal costs of illness to parents in the pediatric oncology context. The conceptual model for pediatric oncology indicates that existing and dynamic parent and family factors, other risk and protective factors, the child’s diagnosis and treatment, and treatment-related financial costs can affect parent financial coping behaviors and parent health and family financial outcomes, all of which may affect child outcomes. Additionally, nursing’s historic emphasis on holistic care, quality of life, and health determinants justify attention to financial toxicity as a nursing role. Therefore, pediatric oncology nurses must be sensitive to financial toxicity and related risk factors, become comfortable communicating about treatment-related financial costs and financial distress with parents and other health professionals, and collaborate in efforts that draw on the expertise of multiple stakeholders to identify potential or actual financial toxicity in parents and mitigate its impact on childhood cancer health outcomes through direct care, referral, research, quality improvement, and health advocacy.