Today's Date: May 31, 2023
Hemodialysis Technology Company Diality Names Robert Funari to its Board of Directors   •   SUMMER FUN STARTS NOW: LEGOLAND® NEW YORK RESORT OPENS LEGO® CITY WATER PLAYGROUND!   •   100 MILLION WOMEN PER YEAR WILL NEED TO ADOPT MOBILE INTERNET TO CLOSE THE GENDER GAP BY 2030, GSMA REPORT REVEALS   •   Silence Therapeutics to Present at the Jefferies Healthcare Conference   •   Spark Math Accredited by Global K-12 STEM Program Stalwart STEM.org   •   GlycoMimetics to Participate in Upcoming Jefferies 2023 Healthcare Conference   •   Kenvue to Participate in the Deutsche Bank dbAccess Global Consumer Conference on June 8, 2023   •   IDgenetix® Shown to Significantly Improve Medication Response and Remission Rates in Patients with Major Depressive Disorder   •   Hey California: Raise the Tax, Fix the Budget Hole; 2023 Legislation to Watch; Big Alcohol Hijacks Awareness Month   •   KCC Welcomes Industry Leaders to CATLAB® 2023   •   Emler Swim School Activities Highlight Water Safety Month   •   Innovative Pilot Program to Support Children Suffering Loss of Caregiver Launches in Utah   •   Shanghai Electric's Impressive 2023 Q1 Financial Results Reflect Business Growth Momentum with Multiple Technological Breakthrou   •   Florida Crystals Corporation Expands Renewable Energy Production to Help Cleanly Power Florida's Only Rice Mill   •   French Photojournalist Laurence Geai Receives IWMF 2023 Anja Niedringhaus Courage in Photojournalism Award   •   IICCS Forum 2023: Accelerating Carbon Capture and Storage's Implementation in Indonesia   •   Forbright Bank Announces 2022 Sustainability Report   •   Akili to Present Clinical Data from Pivotal Trial of Video Game Treatment in Adolescents with ADHD at 2023 ASCP Annual Meeting a   •   Rocket Pharmaceuticals Receives European Medicines Agency (EMA) Priority Medicines (PRIME) Designation for RP-A501 Gene Therapy   •   Strive Health Raises $166 Million in Series C Funding from NEA, CVS Health Ventures and Others
Bookmark and Share

Hospice Care Linked To Local Area's Household Income

  Ann Arbor, Mich. — Wealth, population size, race and age associate with the supply of hospice care available in a county, according to a study published in theJournal of Pain and Symptom Management this month.

Local availability is an important predictor of use of hospice programs, which are end-of-life services that have been shown to improve pain control, maintain patients’ independence and even extend life, says lead author Maria Silveira, M.D., M.P.H., of the Veterans Affairs Ann Arbor Healthcare System and assistant professor in the Department of Internal Medicine at the University of Michigan.

This study is the first to examine geographic variation in the supply of hospice services and its association with community wealth.

The researchers found that for every $1,000 increase in median household income in a county, the supply of hospice services increased by 3 percent.

Hospice supply also was larger in counties with larger populations, more African Americans and people over the age of 65.

But hospice supply decreased in larger geographic counties and those with more Hispanic residents.

More research is needed, says Silveira and her co-authors, but these study results indicate the traditional model for structuring and financing hospice needs to be re-designed. The building of community hospices is often funded through charity and this is one possible explanation for the disparities seen in the study.

“Wealthy communities can afford large amounts of charitable giving and thus have the resources to build local hospices; whereas poorer communities may not be able to donate in the amounts necessary to do the same,” says Silveira.

While the amount of hospice use has increased tremendously in the last twenty years, most Americans die without using hospice care. In 2002, only 28.6 percent of Medicare beneficiaries who died had enrolled in hospice.

To improve the feasibility of hospice in poorer communities, Silveira and her co-authors suggest that Medicare provide assistance or incentives for building hospices in poorer communities, in addition to making sure that reimbursement for hospice services match its cost.

“Since most hospice care in the US is paid for with public funds via Medicare- the government has a responsibility to ensure that access to hospice is equitable,” says Silveira.

Silveira and her co-authors stressed that more research is needed to find out how patient preferences Influence access to hospice by underserved communities.

“The relationship between community affluence and supply of hospice services could reflect community values about hospice and indicate that hospice, as a business, merely follows the demand for its services,” Silveira says.

“Given the tremendous, proven benefit of hospice programs, supply of these services needs ongoing study.”

Additional authors: Susan Goold, M.D., M.P.H., M.A. VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System and professor in the U-M departments of Internal Medicine and Health Management and Policy; Lawrence F. McMahon, M.D., M.P.H., chief of the U-M Division of General Medicine and professor in the departments of Internal Medicine and Health Management and Policy; Stephen Connor, Ph.D. of the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization; and Chris Feudtner, M.D., Ph.D., M.P.H. of the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.


STORY TAGS: Black News, African American News, Minority News, Civil Rights News, Discrimination, Racism, Racial Equality, Bias, Equality, Afro American News, Hispanic News, Latino News, Mexican News, Minority News, Civil Rights, Discrimination, Racism, Diversity, Latina, Racial Equality, Bias, Equality

Video

White House Live Stream
LIVE VIDEO EVERY SATURDAY
alsharpton Rev. Al Sharpton
9 to 11 am EST
jjackson Rev. Jesse Jackson
10 to noon CST


Video

LIVE BROADCASTS
Sounds Make the News ®
WAOK-Urban
Atlanta - WAOK-Urban
KPFA-Progressive
Berkley / San Francisco - KPFA-Progressive
WVON-Urban
Chicago - WVON-Urban
KJLH - Urban
Los Angeles - KJLH - Urban
WKDM-Mandarin Chinese
New York - WKDM-Mandarin Chinese
WADO-Spanish
New York - WADO-Spanish
WBAI - Progressive
New York - WBAI - Progressive
WOL-Urban
Washington - WOL-Urban

Listen to United Natiosns News