Researchers at Wake Forest University School of Medicine found caregivers of children hospitalized for cancer and blood disorders may experience food insecurity during their child’s stay, even if they don’t face that issue at home, and it could be linked to longer stays.
The study, published this spring in Pediatric Blood & Cancer, highlights an overlooked issue, “inpatient food insecurity,” or when families don’t have enough to eat while their child is in the hospital because of the hardships that time might create like missed work or additional expenses.
“We found caregivers who otherwise wouldn’t be food insecure at home had trouble accessing food when their child was in the hospital,” said Joanna Robles, M.D., assistant professor, hematology and oncology, pediatrics, at Wake Forest University School of Medicine. “These are not only times of stress for a family, but they incur additional expenses that go beyond medical bills.”
The study examined survey responses from more than 300 caregivers of children hospitalized in 2022 and 2023 at Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist Brenner Children's Hospital and found nearly one in five caregivers of children admitted to pediatric hematology-oncology units reported experiencing food insecurity during their child’s hospital stay. And most of them — more than 70% — said they did not experience food insecurity at home outside of hospitalization times.
Food insecurity can also impact the overall outcome of the sick child, the study also found. Children whose caregivers experienced food insecurity during the hospitalization stayed in the hospital about one third longer on average compared to those who did not. These children also had higher rates of readmission within 30 days of discharge.
“This shows the value in that additional screening question,” Robles said. “Not only should we assess if a patient’s family struggles with access to food, but we should also specifically screen during the hospital stay and offer help in real time, like meals or other financial assistance.
Robles said additional research is needed to better understand how inpatient food insecurity affects clinical outcomes and whether targeted support, such as caregiver meal assistance, transportation support or broader financial screening, can reduce hospital length of stay or readmissions.
To address inpatient food insecurity at Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist Brenner Children’s Hospital, families who need help are offered three free hot meals a day while their child is in the hospital in addition to a 24/7 food pantry with shelf-stable items. Families are also referred to state and federal assistance programs with the ability to apply onsite to ease the process.
“Families go through a lot when a child is sick,” she added. “If we can help provide the basics, they can focus on their child’s health, and it could even improve outcomes.”
About Wake Forest University School of Medicine
Wake Forest University School of Medicine is the academic core of Charlotte, North Carolina-based Advocate Health and a recognized leader in experiential medical education and groundbreaking research. It directs the education of nearly 1,900 students and fellows, including physicians, basic scientists and allied clinical professionals. The school of medicine also strategically investigates opportunities that will expand basic and clinical research, resulting in nationally and internationally recognized excellence in biomedical research. The school has two campuses, each co-located with leading-edge innovation districts, The Pearl, in Charlotte, and Innovation Quarter, in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. These affiliated life-sciences innovation districts focus on advancing health care through new medical technologies and biomedical discovery.
About Advocate Health
Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, Advocate Health is the third-largest nonprofit, integrated health system in the United States. A preeminent academic health system at the forefront of clinical excellence, innovation and research, it delivers care under the names Advocate Health Care in Illinois; Atrium Health in the Carolinas, Georgia and Alabama; and Aurora Health Care in Wisconsin and Michigan, and Wake Forest University School of Medicine is its academic core. Nationally recognized for expertise in heart and vascular, neurosciences, oncology, pediatrics and rehabilitation, Advocate Health is also a pioneer in the delivery of virtual health care. It is accelerating discovery by making research participation part of the standard-of-care through its one-of-a-kind National Center for Clinical Trials, plus two affiliated life-sciences-focused innovation districts and one of the nation’s largest graduate medical education programs. With more than 165,000 teammates serving patients at 69 hospitals and over 1,000 care locations across eight states, Advocate Health reinvests over $6 billion each year to improve community health, making it one of the nation’s largest providers of community benefit.