Financial Burden in Adults With Chronic Illness in Switzerland: A Secondary Analysis of Qualitative Interviews Using Natural Language Processing and Topic Modeling

TL;DR

This study explores how chronic illness affects financial stability in Switzerland, revealing that bureaucratic and insurance challenges contribute to financial burden.

Contribution

The study applies natural language processing and topic modeling to qualitative data from Switzerland, revealing distinct financial burdens across different chronic illnesses.

Findings

Individuals with dementia and Parkinson disease are more concerned with money issues.

Those with chronic pain, multiple sclerosis, and rare diseases face more insurance-related challenges.

Bureaucratic hurdles and employment instability contribute to financial burden in Switzerland.

Abstract

Chronic illness may cause a financial burden that affects patients, their caregivers, and families. While international research, mostly from the United States, has largely focused on cancer-related financial hardship, less is known about whether financial distress due to other chronic illnesses exists, specifically in countries that have universal health insurance coverage, such as Switzerland.

This study aims to provide insights into how financial burden is discussed by individuals living with chronic illness in Switzerland.

Based on a natural language processing (NLP) approach, alongside topic modeling, a secondary analysis of 180 qualitative interviews of individuals living with chronic illness (dementia, chronic pain, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson disease, and rare diseases) from the Swiss Database of Individual Patient Experiences was conducted.

Key categories identified were money issues, disability insurance, general insurance concerns, and work and loss of income. Individuals living with dementia and Parkinson disease appear to be more concerned with money issues, whereas people living with chronic pain, multiple sclerosis, and rare diseases are more burdened by insurance-related concerns, specifically disability insurance-related challenges. Bureaucratic hurdles and employment instability appear to contribute to the financial burden of people living with chronic illness in Switzerland.

Financial burden is a complex issue among individuals living with chronic illness in Switzerland. Our findings indicate that effectively addressing this burden requires a comprehensive and context-sensitive strategy. Targeted interventions should consider factors such as insurance eligibility, employment flexibility, and the mitigation of out-of-pocket costs to improve financial stability and quality of life for affected individuals.

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