Wish Impact

When a wish comes true, it creates strength, hope
and transformation in a child – and a community.

When a wish comes true, it creates strength, hope and transformation in a child – and a community.

Impact on Quality of Life

When children are living with critical illness, so much of normal childhood is taken away from them — it is exhausting, both emotionally and physically. A wish is something that gives children the opportunity to look outside their illness — it restores a sense of childhood back to the child and normalcy back to the family.

Research shows, and physicians agree, wishes can help improve a child’s quality of life and produce better health outcomes. Members of the Make-A-Wish Medical Advisory Committee share the life-changing impact wishes have — beyond just medicine — on their patients and their families.

Impact in Numbers
Impact in Numbers

550,000

More than 520,000 wishes granted worldwide since 1980.

97%

97% of wish parents report an improvement of the wish child’s emotional health.

40

40 international affiliates grant wishes for children in 50 countries, on 6 continents.

Just a Few Facts

★  Wishes lead to increased joy and happiness for wish children, parents, and siblings.

★  Wish families described increased resilience and self-reliance during the wish journey.

★  Wishes create room for new hope, and motivation to achieve goals.

★  Wishes provide a welcome distraction from the child’s illness and treatment.

★  Wishes facilitate a sense of family togetherness and normalcy.

Just a Few Facts

★  Wishes lead to increased joy and happiness for wish children, parents, and siblings.

★  Wish families described increased resilience and self-reliance during the wish journey.

★  Wishes create room for new hope, and motivation to achieve goals.

★  Wishes provide a welcome distraction from the child’s illness and treatment.

★  Wishes facilitate a sense of family togetherness and normalcy.

Wish Impact Studies

United States

The study led by America’s Nationwide Children’s Hospital (NCH) examined quality of life and health care utilization among a group of patients who were allowed to make a wish and a group who were not.

NCH researchers reported that paediatric patients who were granted a wish were less likely to have unplanned hospital admissions and less likely to visit the emergency department.

*2018 Study: ‘Impact of a Make-A-Wish experience on healthcare utilization’ by Anup D. Patel, Peter Glynn, Ashley M. Falke, Megan Reynolds, Richard Hoyt, Allison Hoynes, Melissa Moore-Clingenpeel, Ann Salvator & Jennifer J. Moreland – October 2018.
“With this study, we can say for the first time that a wish is more than just a really nice day. A wish offers new opportunities to improve a child’s health over time.”

Dr. Patel MD
– Section Chief of Neurology at Nationwide Children’s Hospital (USA)

Wish Impact Studies

Israel

Studies from Make-A-Wish chapters around the world support Dr. Patel’s findings.

In 2015, Make-A-Wish Israel engaged researchers to look into the effects of a wish on children with cancer.

In a controlled trial, 33 kids who were allowed to make a wish were compared with a group of children who weren’t. Each child was asked to rate their psychiatric and health-related symptoms, along with feelings of hope and optimism, before and after their wish.

The research found that overall, children who experienced the Wish Journey generally showed less stress, depression and anxiety symptoms. These feelings were replaced with a greater general sense of hope for their future and positive emotions.
The research also showed that children who experienced the Wish Journey demonstrated greater health-related quality of life, with a significant reduction in their perceptions of their own physical limitations.

*2015 Study: ‘The effects of the Make-A-Wish intervention on psychiatric symptoms and health related quality of life of children with cancer’ by Anat Shoshani, Keren Milfano, Johanna Czamanski-Cohen – October 2015.
Wish Journey
A wish is not a fleeting gift – it’s a carefully planned journey, designed to complement a child’s medical treatment, and give them the hope, strength and joy they need to fight their illness.

★Wish Capture

★Wish Design

★Wish Anticipation

★Wish Realization

★Wish Effects

Wish Journey
A wish is not a fleeting gift – it’s a carefully planned journey, designed to complement a child’s medical treatment, and give them the hope, strength and joy they need to fight their illness.

Read more about the impact of a fulfilled Wish

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