Medical crowdfunding in a postsocialist context: an exploratory study

• In Event: Tech and Digital Transformations

Abstract

Healthcare and social security systems in Serbia have been in transformation in the last decades toward widening the responsibilities of individuals and their families (Zarkovic et al. 2017). One of the effects of these processes is the rise in practices of crowdfunding for medical expenses - a financing method characterized by pooling together many smaller contributions to support medical treatments. In 2021, more than half (57%) of the total registered donated sum of money in Serbia, in the absolute amount of 24.3 million euro, was for medical treatments (Catalyst 2022).
In the absence of a health system that meets the health needs, crowdfunding for medical treatments - a growing phenomenon worldwide (Kenworthy 2019), is potentially justifiable attempt to correct health system deficiencies as it allows people seeking funding to get a chance for treatment. However, donor bias favouring some types of patients over others (Snyder 2016), perpetuating socioeconomic inequality by benefiting privileged members of society the most (Davis et al. 2023, Kenworthy 2021) and the undermining of systemic reforms (Snyder et al. 2017) are some of the issues found in relation to it.
Despite the growing popularity of crowdfunding, there has not been any research that explored its usage or the consequences in Serbia so far. This paper is based on the first exploratory mixed method study aimed at: 1) assessing the unmet health care needs in Serbia (What are the most common conditions, diseases and disorders which prompted individuals to launch campaigns? What types of procedures, medicine, therapies are most needed? What is the size of health-related expenses that individuals aim to finance from donations?) and 2) understanding the conditions that make campaigns (un)successful (What are the factors that influence the success of crowdfunding? What appeals to donors? What is the role of campaigners’ social capital and skills in marketing? How gender and class influence the relative success of the campaigns? Is crowdfunding ‘shaped by and does it shape health disparities’ (Kenworthy 2018) in Serbian context?).
We will present early conclusions of the on-going research conducted in several stages. Firstly, combining manual data extraction with text mining tools, we will create a database of all campaigns (app. 1000) and conduct an exploratory quantitative data analysis of the characteristics and relative success of the campaigns. Then, a sample of 250 campaigns will be subject to computer assisted visual and discourse analysis. Finally, we will select 2 campaigns as case studies for further in-depth analyses applying: a) digital ethnography of social and traditional media; b) 2 focus groups (6-8 people each) with campaigners and donors participating in the selected campaigns.
It has been recognized that the way philanthropy is conceptualized and measured holds a “Northern bias” (Butcher & Einolf), and that there is a need for a global study of philanthropic behaviors (Wiepking 2021). This paper will provide valuable insights on the growing but understudied practice of medical crowdfunding in the context of post-socialist country, thus contributing to the interdisciplinary field of philanthropic studies.

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Authors

• Bojana Radovanovic, Institute for Philosophy and Social Theory, University of Belgrade

• Jelena Kupsjak, Department of Ethnology and Anthropology, University of Zadar

• Ljiljana Pantovic, Institute for Philosophy and Social Theory, University of Belgrade