Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39880449›Full record

Observational studyBMJ open2025

Self-reported determinants for subjective financial distress: a qualitative interview study with German cancer patients.

Andrea Züger, Viktoria Mathies, Katja Mehlis, Sophie Pauge, Luise Richter, Bastian Surmann, Thomas Ernst, Natalja Menold, Wolfgang Greiner, Eva Winkler

Registry-linked trialAbstract readMulticenter StudyObservational Study
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Observational study in BMJ open, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT05319925 (Financial Effects of a Tumor Disease), which is not on this map. Cited by 2 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

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.

2 · The registry

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.

NCT05319925 completednot on this map

Financial Effects of a Tumor Disease

TypeobservationalSponsorUniversity Hospital HeidelbergRan2022 to 2023Enrolled213ConditionsCancerArmsPatient reported outcome measure
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Towards the assessment of financial distress among cancer patients: a conceptual model of the financial effects of a tumour disease.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2026
    Pooled it
  2. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors.

Andrea ZügerDepartment of Medical Oncology, Section Translational Medical Ethics, National Center for Tumor Diseases (NCT), NCT Heidelberg, a partnership between DKFZ and Heidelberg University Hospital, Medical Faculty Heidelberg, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany andrea.zueger@histor.med.uni-giessen.de.ORCID 0000-0001-5540-780X
Viktoria MathiesDepartment of Hematology/Oncology, Jena University Hospital, Jena, Germany.
Katja MehlisDepartment of Medical Oncology, Section Translational Medical Ethics, National Center for Tumor Diseases (NCT), NCT Heidelberg, a partnership between DKFZ and Heidelberg University Hospital, Medical Faculty Heidelberg, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany.
Sophie PaugeDepartment for Health Economics and Health Care Management, School of Public Health, Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Germany.
Luise RichterMethods in Empirical Social Research, Institute of Sociology, Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Social Science, Dresden University of Technology, Dresden, Germany.
Bastian SurmannDepartment of Health Economics and Health Care Management, Faculty of Health Science, Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Germany.
Thomas ErnstDepartment of Hematology/Oncology, Jena University Hospital, Jena, Germany.
Natalja MenoldMethods in Empirical Social Research, Institute of Sociology, Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Social Science, Dresden University of Technology, Dresden, Germany.
Wolfgang GreinerDepartment for Health Economics and Health Care Management, School of Public Health, Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Germany.
Eva WinklerDepartment of Medical Oncology, Section Translational Medical Ethics, National Center for Tumor Diseases (NCT), NCT Heidelberg, a partnership between DKFZ and Heidelberg University Hospital, Medical Faculty Heidelberg, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectivesPatient-reported financial effects of a tumour disease in a universal healthcare setting are a multidimensional phenomenon. Actual and anticipated objective financial burden caused by direct medical and non-medical costs as well as indirect costs such as loss of income can lead to subjective financial distress. To better understand subjective financial distress, the presented study explores self-reported determinants for subjective financial distress in German patients with cancer, aiming to inform a new German-language patient-reported outcome measure for determining the financial effects of a tumour disease.

designSemistructured interviews with n=18 patients with cancer were conducted between May 2021 and December 2021. Patients were recruited based on a purposive sampling strategy in outpatient and inpatient settings. The interviews were audiorecorded, transcribed verbatim and analysed using qualitative content analysis.

settingParticipants were recruited from two German academic cancer centres, that is, the National Center for Tumor Diseases Heidelberg and Jena University Hospital.

participants18 patients who had undergone cancer-related therapy for at least 2 months were interviewed (10 females).

resultsBased on the results of the qualitative content analysis, we developed a multicomponent construct of determinants that could influence subjective financial distress. The self-reported determinants can be classified into material (

conclusionSubjective financial distress depends not only on material but also on social, systemic and inner personal determinants. Knowledge of these determinants can inform a new comprehensive German-language instrument for measuring self-reported financial effects of a tumour disease. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NCT05319925.

Indexed as

Cost of IllnessFinancial StressNeoplasmsAdultAgedFemaleGermanyHumansInterviews as TopicMaleMiddle AgedPatient Reported Outcome MeasuresQualitative ResearchSelf ReportPatient Reported Outcome MeasuresPercieved Social SupportQUALITATIVE RESEARCH

Identifiers

PMID39880449
PMCPMC11781118

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC
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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 OpenQuestion graph.