New research shows disparities in hospice enrollment are not likely related to access
Researchers at Mount Sinai School of Medicine have found that 98 percent of the U.S. population lives in communities within 60 minutes of a hospice provider, suggesting that disparities in use of hospice are not likely due to a lack of access to a hospice provider. The results are published in the current issue of the Journal of Palliative Medicine.
"Despite a significant increase in the availability of hospice services during the past decade, the majority of Americans die without hospice care," said Melissa D.A. Carlson, PhD, Assistant Professor of Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine at Mount Sinai School of Medicine. "Our data show that proximity to a hospice provider is not a likely barrier to hospice enrollment, as the vast majority of Americans have a hospice nearby."
Studies have shown that enrollment in hospice helps address end-of-life concerns facing patients and their caregivers. Hospice services offer symptom management, medication delivery, home crisis intervention, and psychosocial support during one of the most difficult and emotionally demanding phases of the patient's illness.
Dr. Carlson's research team studied data from the 2008 Medicare Provider of Services data, U.S. Census data, and geographic mapping software. Census tract characteristics evaluated included population per mile, population over the age of 65, median household per capita income, percentage over the age of 18 with less than a high school education, black population percentage, and census region. The team determined that 98 percent of the U.S. population lives within 60 minutes of a hospice, and 88 percent live within 30 minutes from one.
The average number of minutes between a community center and a hospice was 15 minutes. The number of minutes to the nearest hospice was lower in communities with several characteristics, including: higher population per square mile, higher median household income, lower percentage with less than a high school education, and a higher black population percentage. Communities with higher percentages of the population who are black are more likely to have geographic access to hospice, but previous research has shown that people who are black are less likely to use hospice compared with people who are white.
"Our data suggest that the growth in the number of hospices since 2000 has improved access to hospice care as the closest hospice for approximately one-third of the population, in both rural and urban areas, is a relatively new hospice, certified by Medicare since 2000," said Dr. Carlson. "However, more research is needed to determine why more patients and their families are not under the care of a hospice at the end of life, including hospice admission criteria and patient financial and cultural factors that may present barriers to hospice use."
Provided by The Mount Sinai Hospital
-
From lemons to lemonade: Reaction uses carbon dioxide to make carbon-based semiconductor,
28 comments
-
Every black hole contains a new universe: A physicist presents a solution to present-day cosmic mysteries,
215 comments
-
New silicon memory chip developed,
16 comments
-
Thioridazine kills cancer stem cells in human while avoiding toxic side-effects of conventional cancer treatments,
3 comments
-
SpaceX private rocket blasts off for space station (Update),
41 comments
-
Classical and Quantum Mechanics via Lie algebras
Apr 15, 2011
- More from Physics Forums - Independent Research
More news stories
More mental health care urged for kids who self-harm
(HealthDay) -- Doctors have long known that some kids suffering severe emotional turmoil find relief in physical pain -- cutting or burning or sticking themselves with pins to achieve a form of release.
Medicine & Health / Psychology & Psychiatry
54 minutes ago |
not rated yet |
0
Neck strength, cervical spine mobility don't predict pain
(HealthDay) -- Neither isometric neck muscle strength nor passive mobility of the cervical spine, two physical capacity parameters found to be associated with neck pain in other studies, predicts later neck ...
52 minutes ago |
not rated yet |
0
Cancer patients share web info with docs for insight, advice
(HealthDay) -- Cancer patients' primary goal in talking with their doctors about information they've found on the Internet is to get more insight and advice on the online information, new research indicates.
34 minutes ago |
not rated yet |
0
New device allows pacemaker patients to safely undergo MRIs
For many, it's a medical conundrum: The very pacemaker keeping their heart in rhythm prevents them from undergoing an MRI to diagnose other ailments, because interaction between the two devices could prove deadly.
Medicine & Health / Cardiology
14 minutes ago |
not rated yet |
0
|
Of mice and mental models: Neuroscientific implications of risk-optimized behavior in the mouse
(Medical Xpress) -- Regardless of an organism’s biological complexity, every encephalized animal continuously makes under-informed behavioral choices that can have serious consequences. Despite its ubiquity, ...
Astronauts capture SpaceX's Dragon for station dock
Astronauts aboard the International Space Station reached out and caught SpaceX's Dragon capsule for docking at the orbiting lab on Friday in a historic first for commercial spaceflight.
Dragon arrives at space station in historic 1st (Update 2)
The privately bankrolled Dragon capsule arrived at the International Space Station for a historic docking Friday, captured by astronauts wielding a giant robot arm.
MIT researchers devise new means to synchronize a group of robots (w/ Video)
(Phys.org) -- For several years, roboticists have been working out ways to get a group of robots to perform synchronized activities as demonstrated most often in dance routines. Its not just about trying ...
Cancer may require simpler genetic mutations than previously thought
Chromosomal deletions in DNA often involve just one of two gene copies inherited from either parent. But scientists haven't known how a deletion in one gene from one parent, called a "hemizygous" deletion, can contribute ...
Copy of the genetic makeup travels in a protein suitcase
Scientists from the Institute for Physical and Theoretical Chemistry at the University of Bonn have succeeded for the first time in the real time filming of the transport of an important information carrier in biological ...
SAfrica stops short of being disappointed over SKA verdict
South Africa stopped short of expressing disappointment after it failed to win the bid to single-handily host the world's most powerful radio telescope.