Overview:
Although our healthcare system is universal, substantial inequities exists for populations in British Columbia outside of the Lower Mainland accessing healthcare. Patients living outside of the Lower Mainland who need solid organ transplants face undue financial hardships due to the expenses associated with accommodation, transportation and food costs incurred when relocating to Vancouver for their transplant. Often patients must relocate at a moment’s notice due to the nature of organ transplant operations. In a city with one of the highest costs of living in Canada, and a vacancy rate of 0.9%[1], patients and their families face insurmountable challenges securing housing and egregious stress with the associated costs.
The Housing is Healthcare research team is working towards equitable healthcare for these patients receiving solid organ transplants through advocating for funding from the Ministry of Health. We work collaboratively with a Community Advisory Committee to ensure that the research is grounded in the lived and living experiences of patients who have received solid organ transplants. To reach our goal of equitable, evidenced-based policies to minimize health disparities and promote equity for transplant patients outside of the Lower Mainland, we need to develop a rigorous and comprehensive understanding of the out-of-pocket costs experienced by solid organ transplant patients and their caregivers. We are engaging patients and their caregivers in interviews about their experience receiving a solid organ transplant or being on the waitlist for a solid organ transplant. We are also using a cost-consequence survey to develop an accurate account of the out-of-pocket costs that are specific to solid organ transplant patients and their caregivers who live rurally, remotely, or in cities outside of the Lower Mainland. We are determined to make changes to policy that lead to improved health outcomes for these patients.
Learn More or Participate:
For more information or to participate in this study, including in the patient and caregiver interviews, please contact the Research Coordinator Michee-Ana Hamilton (michee.hamilton@ubc.ca).
If you are a patient who has received an organ transplant in the last 5 years and you would like to contribute to the research by completing the Out of Pocket Costs for Rural Residents Accessing Solid Organ Transplants survey, please click here for patient survey version.
Research Team:
Principal Investigators:
Jude Kornelsen, PhD
Associate Professor, Co-Director, Centre for Rural Health Research
Jacqueline Podewils
Community Partner, Lung Transplant Housing Support
Dennis Josey
Community Partner, Lung Transplant Housing Support
Research Coordinator:
Michee-Ana Hamilton
Centre for Rural Health Research
In the Media:
