Key drivers of medical crowdfunding success: a comprehensive analysis of 84,712 projects

Abstract Medical crowdfunding, an emerging form of internet-based financing, has seen immense growth globally in recent years, playing a significant role in supporting vulnerable groups to afford medical expense. In China, the insufficiency of medical insurance to cover all medical expenses, coupled...

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Main Authors: Siyuan Zhang, Qing Zhang, Mengning Wang, Xin Tang, Xin Lu, Wei Huang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Springer Nature 2025-02-01
Series:Humanities & Social Sciences Communications
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-024-04160-5
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author Siyuan Zhang
Qing Zhang
Mengning Wang
Xin Tang
Xin Lu
Wei Huang
author_facet Siyuan Zhang
Qing Zhang
Mengning Wang
Xin Tang
Xin Lu
Wei Huang
author_sort Siyuan Zhang
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Medical crowdfunding, an emerging form of internet-based financing, has seen immense growth globally in recent years, playing a significant role in supporting vulnerable groups to afford medical expense. In China, the insufficiency of medical insurance to cover all medical expenses, coupled with significant urban-rural disparities, leaves certain households, especially those in impoverished regions, unable to bear unforeseen high healthcare costs. Consequently, there arises a need for medical crowdfunding as a supplementary mechanism to the healthcare insurance system. The performance of existing medical crowdfunding projects, as well as the factors affecting the success rate, however, have been largely been overlooked. This study collects a large dataset from one of China’s largest crowdfunding platforms, encompassing 84,712 unique projects, and employs comprehensive analysis on investigating the impact of a variety of factors, including project features and patient characteristics. The results indicate that both project features and patient characteristics significantly affect the performance of medical crowdfunding projects, encompassing aspects like fundraising target amount, patient age, disease type, and geographic location. Notably, donors in China tend to favor projects aiding teenagers, leukemia sufferers, and cancer patients. Additionally, an intriguing observation is that patients in affluent regions are more likely to receive financial support through medical crowdfunding, which reveals the inequity in the geographic distribution of medical crowdfunding. Our research not only contribute to providing a valuable addition to the field of medical crowdfunding, but also provide insightful guidance and practical recommendations for crowdfunding platforms and fundraisers.
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spelling doaj-art-e3efaac478f94797bb863ccc66a4b5292025-02-09T12:26:07ZengSpringer NatureHumanities & Social Sciences Communications2662-99922025-02-0112111710.1057/s41599-024-04160-5Key drivers of medical crowdfunding success: a comprehensive analysis of 84,712 projectsSiyuan Zhang0Qing Zhang1Mengning Wang2Xin Tang3Xin Lu4Wei Huang5College of Systems Engineering, National University of Defense TechnologyCollege of Systems Engineering, National University of Defense TechnologyCollege of Systems Engineering, National University of Defense TechnologyNational Center for Applied Mathematics Shenzhen, Southern University of Science and TechnologyCollege of Systems Engineering, National University of Defense TechnologyNational Center for Applied Mathematics Shenzhen, Southern University of Science and TechnologyAbstract Medical crowdfunding, an emerging form of internet-based financing, has seen immense growth globally in recent years, playing a significant role in supporting vulnerable groups to afford medical expense. In China, the insufficiency of medical insurance to cover all medical expenses, coupled with significant urban-rural disparities, leaves certain households, especially those in impoverished regions, unable to bear unforeseen high healthcare costs. Consequently, there arises a need for medical crowdfunding as a supplementary mechanism to the healthcare insurance system. The performance of existing medical crowdfunding projects, as well as the factors affecting the success rate, however, have been largely been overlooked. This study collects a large dataset from one of China’s largest crowdfunding platforms, encompassing 84,712 unique projects, and employs comprehensive analysis on investigating the impact of a variety of factors, including project features and patient characteristics. The results indicate that both project features and patient characteristics significantly affect the performance of medical crowdfunding projects, encompassing aspects like fundraising target amount, patient age, disease type, and geographic location. Notably, donors in China tend to favor projects aiding teenagers, leukemia sufferers, and cancer patients. Additionally, an intriguing observation is that patients in affluent regions are more likely to receive financial support through medical crowdfunding, which reveals the inequity in the geographic distribution of medical crowdfunding. Our research not only contribute to providing a valuable addition to the field of medical crowdfunding, but also provide insightful guidance and practical recommendations for crowdfunding platforms and fundraisers.https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-024-04160-5
spellingShingle Siyuan Zhang
Qing Zhang
Mengning Wang
Xin Tang
Xin Lu
Wei Huang
Key drivers of medical crowdfunding success: a comprehensive analysis of 84,712 projects
Humanities & Social Sciences Communications
title Key drivers of medical crowdfunding success: a comprehensive analysis of 84,712 projects
title_full Key drivers of medical crowdfunding success: a comprehensive analysis of 84,712 projects
title_fullStr Key drivers of medical crowdfunding success: a comprehensive analysis of 84,712 projects
title_full_unstemmed Key drivers of medical crowdfunding success: a comprehensive analysis of 84,712 projects
title_short Key drivers of medical crowdfunding success: a comprehensive analysis of 84,712 projects
title_sort key drivers of medical crowdfunding success a comprehensive analysis of 84 712 projects
url https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-024-04160-5
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