SSW Associate Professor John Cagle, PhD Student Joonyup Lee, and colleagues have a new paper published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. The article is entitled "Hospice Utilization in the United States: A Prospective Cohort Study Comparing Cancer and Noncancer Deaths."
OBJECTIVES Reliable national estimates of hospice use and underuse are needed. Additionally, drivers of hospice use in the United States are poorly understood, especially among noncancer populations. Thus the objectives of this study were to (1) provide reliable estimates of hospice use among adults in the United States; and (2) identify factors predicting use among decedents and within subsamples of cancer and noncancer deaths.
CONCLUSION Findings suggest hospice remains underutilized, especially among individuals with noncancer illness. Extrapolating results to the US population, we estimate that annually nearly a million individuals who are likely eligible for hospice die without its services. Most (84%) of these decedents have a noncancer condition. Interventions are needed to increase appropriate hospice utilization, particularly in noncancer care settings. Cagle, J.G., Lee, J., Ornstein, K.A, Guralnik, J.M. (2019). Hospice Utilization in the United States: A Prospective Cohort Study Comparing Cancer and Noncancer Deaths. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. DOI: 10.1111/jgs.16294