The Fundraising Effectiveness and Its Influencing Factors of Online Medical Crowdfunding Campaigns: evidence from a cross-sectional study in China (Preprint)

BACKGROUND Medical crowdfunding is a growing phenomenon in China, driven by limited medical resources and disparities between urban and rural public health systems. However, research on the situation and determinants of medical crowdfunding campaigns is scarce. This study aims to explore the fundraising effectiveness and influencing factors of online medical crowdfunding campaigns in China, using data from the Sina Micro-Charities platform. OBJECTIVE This study aims to explore the fundraising effectiveness and influencing factors of online medical crowdfunding campaigns in China, using data from the Sina Micro-Charities platform. METHODS This study adopts a quantitative analysis approach and examines the relationship between recipients’ characteristics, organizational quality, textual content of the crowdfunding project, and fundraising effectiveness, measured by per capita donation amount and fundraising success rate. RESULTS The results show that age, location, disease type of recipients, picture proofs, third-party references, and follow-up actions significantly affect fundraising effectiveness. The findings suggest that medical crowdfunding campaigns are influenced by both rational and emotional factors and have implications for governments in managing charitable crowdfunding that transparency and accountability are essential for building trust and credibility. CONCLUSIONS This study is one of the first to examine the fundraising effectiveness of online medical crowdfunding campaigns in China, using data from the Sina Micro-charities platform, which provides novel insights into factors influencing medical online crowdfunding campaign fundraising effectiveness in China, which have important implications for both theory and practice.