JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Medical crowdfunding has emerged as a growing area for fundraising opportunities. Some environmental trends drive the emergence of campaigns to raise funds for medical care. These trends include lack of medical insurance, economic backlash following the 2008 financial collapse, and shortcomings of healthcare regulations.

Objective:

Research is limited regarding crowdfunding campaign use, reasons, and effects on the provision of medical care and individual relationships to health systems. In this research, the authors will explore the nature and dimensions of the phenomenon of medical crowdfunding, using a visual analytics approach and data crawled from GoFundMe in 2019. The authors will explore and identify factors that contribute to a successful campaign.

Methods:

This data-driven study will use a visual analytics approach. It will focus on descriptive analytics to obtain panoramic insight on medical projects funded through the GoFundMe crowdfunding platform.

Results:

We highlight the relevance of positioning the campaign for fundraising. In terms of motivating donors, it appears that people are typically more generous in contributing to campaigns for children rather than adults. The results emphasize the differing dynamics that a picture posted in the campaign brings to the potential for medical crowdfunding. Regarding the motivation of donors, the results show that a single picture of a pediatric patient is most effective. Also, a picture depicting the current medical condition of the patient (as severe) is more effective than one depicting normalcy in the condition. The authors also draw attention to the optimum length of the title. Finally, an interesting trend in the trajectory of donations is that the average amount of a donation decreases with the increase in the number of donors. This indicates that the first donors tend to be the most generous.

Conclusions:

The authors examine the relationship between social media, characteristics of a campaign, and the potential for fundraising. Their analysis of medical crowdfunding campaigns across the states offers a window into the status of the country’s healthcare affordability. The research shows the nurturing role that social media can play in the domain of medical crowdfunding. In addition, the authors discuss the drivers of a successful fundraising campaign with respect to the GoFundMe platform.