The effect of inpatient hospice units on hospice use post-admission

Home Health Care Serv Q. 2002;21(2):73-83. doi: 10.1300/J027v21n02_05.

Abstract

The objective of this study was to determine whether having a hospice unit within the hospital increases the proportion of terminally ill patients who use hospice services (including home, nursing home, or inpatient hospice) post-admission. Using medical record data abstracted for 232 randomly selected patients with terminal cancer admitted to six community hospitals in Connecticut, we found that patients admitted to a hospital with a hospice unit were more likely to use hospice services (i.e., home hospice, nursing home hospice, or inpatient hospice) post-admission than patients admitted to a hospital without a hospice unit (unadjusted OR 5.7, 95% CI 3.1, 10.6). This effect persisted after adjusting for patient age, gender, marital status, documented discussions of prognosis, prior hospice use, and type of cancer.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Aftercare / organization & administration
  • Aftercare / statistics & numerical data*
  • Aged
  • Aged, 80 and over
  • Connecticut
  • Cross-Sectional Studies
  • Female
  • Health Services Research
  • Hospice Care / organization & administration
  • Hospice Care / statistics & numerical data*
  • Hospital Units / organization & administration
  • Hospital Units / statistics & numerical data*
  • Hospitals, Community / organization & administration*
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Palliative Care / organization & administration
  • Palliative Care / statistics & numerical data
  • Patient Admission / statistics & numerical data*
  • Terminally Ill / statistics & numerical data*