Caregiver At-Work Productivity Loss at the Time of a Child’s Diagnosis With High-Risk Hodgkin Lymphoma: A Report From the Children’s Oncology Group AHOD1331 Study

Zheng DJ, Rodday AM, Castellino SM, Renfro LA, Lerner D, Henderson TO, Wu Y, Kelly KM, Conti RM, Parsons SK. Caregiver At-Work Productivity Loss at the Time of a Child’s Diagnosis With High-Risk Hodgkin Lymphoma: A Report From the Children’s Oncology Group AHOD1331 Study. Pediatr Blood Cancer. 2025 Sep;72(9):e31841. doi: 10.1002/pbc.31841. Epub 2025 Jun 30. PMID: 40589014; PMCID: PMC12395594.

Caregiver work productivity loss is an important spillover in estimating the costs of pediatric cancer diagnosis and treatment. In this prospective multi-institutional study, cross-sectional analysis of 155 caregivers of children with high-risk Hodgkin lymphoma revealed 9% at-work productivity loss in the four weeks leading up to diagnosis including interference in all four domains measured by the Caregiver Work Limitations Questionnaire: time management, physical tasks, mental-interpersonal tasks, and output tasks. The degree of productivity loss experienced by these caregivers at diagnosis is substantial. Longitudinal analysis of caregiver burden throughout treatment is needed to understand the full extent of the economic impact.