Make-a-Wish arranges experiences, or "wishes," for children with
progressive, life-threatening, or life-limiting illness.
Researchers compared unplanned hospital admissions and emergency
room visits for 496 patients at Nationwide Children's Hospital in
Columbus, Ohio and a control group of 496 kids with similar
illnesses who didn't receive a wish.
Compared to children who didn't receive a wish, children who did 2.5
times more likely to have a drop in unplanned hospital admissions in
the year after the wish compared to the year before, and 1.9 times
more likely to have a drop in emergency room visits from the year
before to the year after, the study found.
Overall, 62 percent of kids who received "wishes" had lower charges
during the second year than during the first year, as did 42 percent
of kids who didn't receive "wishes."
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"For the first time we are able to quantify the impact of a "wish"
using healthcare utilization data such as emergency department
visits, hospitalizations, and costs," said lead study author Dr.
Anup Patel of Nationwide Children's.
"It matters to patients and families, as we have shown that a 'wish'
may allow the patient to be home more with their family, not miss
school, and save families money in healthcare costs," Patel said by
email.
The average national cost of a wish is $10,130, which covers the
expenses related to the wish experience including overhead and
staffing needs, researchers note in the journal Pediatrics Research.
To assess how "wishes" impacted health costs, researchers looked at
total hospital charges for kids who received wishes and kids who
didn't and considered cases whether or not the charges were equal to
or exceeded the typical $10,130 cost of a wish.
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A higher percentage of kids who received "wishes" achieved health
costs that were less than the experiences or gifts they got. This,
the researchers conclude, suggests that an added benefit of the
Make-a-Wish program may be lower hospital costs or lower medical
bills.
"We are not quite sure why we saw these results," Patel said.
"However, I wonder if a Wish allows a patient to be more connected
with their family and medical team to where they are engaged more in
their care and possibly more adherent to treatments," Patel added.
"In addition, I believe there is a benefit to health for when people
experience good things such as a Wish that makes them happier."
More research is still needed to verify these results and understand
why "wishes" might help curb health utilization or health spending,
Patel cautioned.
When parents think children might benefit from some special
experiences to take their minds off being sick but can't get a
formal "wish," they can still try other things.
"If "wishes" are not possible, I recommend having breaks from
illness where kids can be kids," Patel said.
"It does not have to be an expensive trip, it can be play time or
fun family time," Patel added. "We may be able to see the same
results, but I am not sure."
SOURCE: https://go.nature.com/2BbKjQj Pediatric Research, online
October 18, 2018.
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