Families' perception of the added value of hospice in the nursing home

Development of a Hospice Perceptions Instrument for Diverse Patients and Families: Establishing Content and Face Validity

CONTEXT

For many, the perception of "hospice" is synonymous with "death." Even clinicians struggle to have conversations that distinguish between hospice and palliative care for fear that discussing hospice may diminish hope. To date, there are no existing measurement tools to evaluate patient and family perceptions of hospice care.

OBJECTIVE

This research aimed to develop a Hospice Perceptions Instrument (HPI) to capture these perceptions among diverse patients and families.

METHODS

Building on previous studies and literature, 79 potential items were drafted for the instrument. Our interprofessional team independently and collectively evaluated these, resulting in 36 items rated on a 5-point Likert scale. Overarching domains include (1) hospice philosophy and definitions; (2) hospice services; (3) values; and (4) counter-perceptions. Sixteen national subject matter experts from various professions and roles were invited to participate in the content-validity index and five hospice caregivers were invited to participate in face validity.

RESULTS

Fourteen experts responded, with ten meeting inclusion criteria: one physician, four nurses, three social workers, and two chaplains. Six of the ten identified as Black. Three items were removed (I-CVI ranged from 0.5-06), and nine items were revised (I-CVI ranged from 0.6-07). The overall Content Validity Index (CVI) was 0.83, indicating excellent content validity. After revisions, five hospice caregivers assessed face validity and no changes were made based on feedback.

CONCLUSION

Results reveal a disconnect between professional expertise and patient/family voices related to hospice perceptions. Development of this instrument invites a better understanding of perceptions leading to new opportunities for patient/family engagement.

Psychometric properties and measurement invariance of Short-Form Life Attitude Inventory for hospital staff

BACKGROUND

The life attitude of health care workers can deeply influence the quality of care. Examining the performance of the Short-Form Life Attitude Inventory (SF-LAI), this study analyzes the factorial structure, reliability, and invariance of the revised SF-LAI across genders and professions among the staff of a teaching medical center.

METHODS

The SF-LAI was developed for university students in Taiwan. From January to February 2019, we administered a cross-sectional survey of life attitudes by distributing the SF-LAI to all staff members of a medical center in Taiwan. The construct validity was evaluated using a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Model fit was assessed in terms of the comparative fit index (CFI), Tucker-Lewis index (TFI), standardized root mean square residual (SRMR), and root mean square of error of approximation (RMSEA). Internal consistency was calculated using Cronbach's alpha and McDonald's omega. We also performed the CFA invariance analysis for the SF-LAI-R across genders and professions (physician, nurse and other hospital staff).

RESULTS

Of 884 (24.62%) responses, 835 were valid. The participants had a mean age of 47.8 years, and 20.12% were male. In a comparison of multiple CFAs, a second-order model with six factors outperformed other models. The goodness of fit indices revealed the CFI was 0.955, TFI was 0.952, RMSEA was 0.071, and SRMR was 0.038. The Cronbach's alphas, McDonald's omega coefficients for internal consistency were all greater than 0.8. The first and second-order model had metric and scalar invariance across genders and professions.

CONCLUSIONS

As health care demands evolve, humanities are becoming more important in medical education. Life attitude of hospital care worker is a crucial indicator of whether one embodies the ideals of a humanistic education. The revised SF-LAI has acceptable structural validity, internal consistency, and invariance across genders and professions among staff members of a teaching medical center.

Family Caregiver Support of Patient Self-Management During Chronic, Life-Limiting Illness: A Qualitative Metasynthesis

Family caregivers play an integral role in supporting patient self-management, yet how they perform this role is unclear. We conducted a qualitative metasynthesis of family caregivers' processes to support patient self-management of chronic, life-limiting illness and factors affecting their support. Methods included a systematic literature search, quality appraisal of articles, data abstraction, and data synthesis to produce novel themes. Thirty articles met inclusion criteria, representing 935 international family caregivers aged 18 to 89 years caring for patients with various health conditions. Three themes characterized family caregivers' processes to support patient self-management: "Focusing on the Patient's Illness Needs," "Activating Resources to Support Oneself as the Family Caregiver," and "Supporting a Patient Living with a Chronic, Life-Limiting Illness." Factors affecting family caregivers' support included Personal Characteristics, Health Status, Resources, Environmental Characteristics, and the Health Care System. The family caregiver role in supporting patient self-management is multidimensional, encompassing three processes of care and influenced by multiple factors.

Goals-of-Care Consultation Associated With Increased Hospice Enrollment Among Propensity-Matched Cohorts of Seriously Ill African American and White Patients

CONTEXT

African Americans are less likely to receive hospice care and more likely to receive aggressive end-of-life care than whites. Little is known about how palliative care consultation (PCC) to discuss goals of care is associated with hospice enrollment by race.

OBJECTIVES

To compare enrollment in hospice at discharge between propensity-matched cohorts of African Americans with and without PCC and whites with and without PCC.

METHODS

Secondary analysis of a retrospective cohort study at a high-acuity hospital; using stratified propensity-score matching for 35,154 African Americans and whites aged 18+ admitted for conditions other than childbirth or rehabilitation, who were not hospitalized at end of study, and did not die during index hospitalization (hospitalization during which first PCC occurred).

RESULTS

Compared with African Americans without PCC, African Americans with PCC were 15 times more likely to be discharged to hospice from index hospitalization (2.4% vs. 36.5%; P < 0.0001). Compared with white patients without PCC, white patients with PCC were 14 times more likely to be discharged to hospice from index hospitalization (3.0% vs. 42.7%; P < 0.0001).

CONCLUSION

In propensity-matched cohorts of seriously ill patients, PCC to discuss goals of care was associated with significant increases in hospice enrollment at discharge among both African Americans and whites. Research is needed to understand how PCC influences decision making by race, how PCC is associated with postdischarge hospice outcomes such as disenrollment and hospice lengths of stay, and if PCC is associated with improving racial disparities in end-of-life care.

Top Ten Tips Palliative Care Clinicians Should Know About Cognitive Impairment and Institutional Care

Most long-term care (LTC) residents are of age >65 years and have multiple chronic health conditions affecting their cognitive and physical functioning. Although some individuals in nursing homes return home after receiving therapy services, most will remain in a LTC facility until their deaths. This article seeks to provide guidance on how to assess and effectively select treatment for delirium, behavioral and psychological symptoms for patients with dementia, and address other common challenges such as advanced care planning, decision-making capacity, and artificial hydration at the end of life. To do so, we draw upon a team of physicians with training in various backgrounds such as geriatrics, palliative medicine, neurology, and psychiatry to shed light on those important topics in the following "Top 10" tips.

Differences in Caregiver Reports of the Quality of Hospice Care Across Settings

OBJECTIVES

To examine variation in reported experiences with hospice care by setting.

DESIGN

Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems Hospice (CAHPS®) Survey data from 2016 were analyzed. Multivariate linear regression analysis was used to examine differences in measure scores by setting of care (home, nursing home [NH], hospital, freestanding hospice inpatient unit [IPU], and assisted living facility [ALF]).

SETTING

A total of 2636 US hospices.

PARTICIPANTS

A total of 311 635 primary caregivers of patients who died in hospice.

MEASUREMENTS

Outcomes were seven hospice quality measures, including five composite measures that assess aspects of hospice care important to patients and families, including hospice team communication, timeliness of care, treating family member with respect, symptom management, and emotional and spiritual support, and two global measures of the overall rating of the hospice and willingness to recommend it to friends and family. Analyses were adjusted for mode of survey administration and differences in case-mix between hospices.

RESULTS

Caregivers of decedents who received hospice care in a NH reported significantly worse experiences than caregivers of those in the home for all measures. ALF scores were also significantly lower than home for all measures, except providing emotional and spiritual support. Differences in NH and ALF settings compared to home were particularly large for hospice team communication (ranging from -11 to -12 on a 0-100 scale) and getting help for symptoms (ranging from -7 to -10). Consistently across all care settings, hospice team communication, treating family member with respect, and providing emotional and spiritual support were most strongly associated with overall rating of care.

CONCLUSIONS

Important opportunities exist to improve quality of hospice care in NHs and ALFs. Quality improvement and regulatory interventions targeting the NH and ALF settings are needed to ensure that all hospice decedents and their family receive high-quality, patient- and family-centered hospice care. J Am Geriatr Soc 68:1218-1225, 2020.

"It's Like a Death Sentence but It Really Isn't" What Patients and Families Want to Know About Hospice Care When Making End-of-Life Decisions

BACKGROUND

Hospice is underutilized, due to both lack of initiation from patients and late referral from clinicians. Prior research has suggested the reasons for underuse are multifactorial, including clinician and patient lack of understanding, misperceptions about the nature of hospice care, and poor communication during end-of-life discussions about hospice care. Little is known about the decisional needs of patients and families engaging in hospice decision-making.

OBJECTIVES

To understand the decisional needs of patients and families making decisions about hospice care.

METHODS

We conducted focus groups with family caregivers and hospice providers and one-on-one interviews with patients considering or enrolled in hospice care. We identified participants through purposeful and snowball sampling methods. All interviews were transcribed verbatim and analyzed using a grounded theory approach.

RESULTS

Four patients, 32 family caregivers, and 27 hospice providers participated in the study. Four main themes around decisional needs emerged from the interviews and focus groups: (1) What is hospice care?; (2) Why might hospice care be helpful?; (3) Where is hospice care provided?; and (4) How is hospice care paid for?

DISCUSSION

Hospice may not be the right treatment choice for all with terminal illness. Our study highlights where patients' and families' understanding could be enhanced to assure that they have the opportunity to benefit from hospice, if they so desire.

Hospice use and one-year survivorship of residents in long-term care facilities in Canada: a cohort study

Background

Hospice care is designed for persons in the final phase of a terminal illness. However, hospice care is not used appropriately. Some persons who do not meet the hospice eligibility receive hospice care, while many persons who may have benefitted from hospice care do not receive it. This study aimed to examine the characteristics of, and one-year survivorship among, residents who received hospice care versus those who did not in long-term care facilities (LTCFs) in Canada.

Methods

This retrospective cohort study used linked health administrative data from the Canadian Continuing Reporting System (CCRS) and the Discharge Abstract Database (DAD). All persons who resided in a LTCF and who had a Resident Assessment Instrument Minimum Data Set Version 2.0 (RAI-MDS 2.0) assessment in the CCRS database between Jan. 1st, 2015 and Dec 31st, 2015 were included in this study (N = 185,715). Death records were linked up to Dec 31th, 2016. Univariate, bivariate and multivariate analyses were performed.

Results

The reported hospice care rate in LTCFs is critically low (less than 3%), despite one in five residents dying within 3 months of the assessment. Residents who received hospice care and died within 1 year were found to have more severe and complex health conditions than other residents. Compared to those who did not receive hospice care but died within 1 year, residents who received hospice care and were alive 1 year following the assessment were younger (a mean age of 79.4 [+ 13.5] years vs. 86.5 [+ 9.2] years), more likely to live in an urban LTCF (93.2% vs. 82.6%), had a higher percentage of having a diagnosis of cancer (50.7% vs. 12.9%), had a lower percentage of having a diagnosis of dementia (30.2% vs. 54.5%), and exhibited more severe acute clinical conditions.

Conclusions

The actual use of hospice care among LTCF residents is very poor in Canada. Several factors emerged as potential barriers to hospice use in the LTCF population including ageism, rurality, and a diagnosis of dementia. Improved understanding of hospice use and one-year survivorship may help LTCFs administrators, hospice care providers, and policy makers to improve hospice accessibility in this target group.

Pressure Ulcer Prevention and Treatment in Hospices: A Qualitative Analysis

There has been little research into pressure ulcer prevention and treatment in hospices. In this study, interviews with hospice directors of clinical services and direct-care nurses were analyzed using qualitative methods. Several general themes were found. Both pressure ulcer prevention and treatment can be painful to hospice patients. Comfort may supersede prevention and wound care when patients are actively dying or have conditions causing them to have a single position of comfort. Family caregivers must face additional burdens when a pressure ulcer develops. In conclusion, hospice providers, patients, and family caregivers together must balance patient comfort with pressure ulcer prevention and treatment, which often leads to decisions to accept death with a pressure ulcer. Future studies should clarify how these parties can best work together, especially to identify when prevention or treatment has become futile.

Predictors of Hospice Enrollment for Patients With Advanced Heart Failure and Effects on Health Care Use

OBJECTIVES

This study sought to: 1) identify the predictors of hospice enrollment for patients with heart failure (HF); and 2) determine the impact of hospice enrollment on health care use.

BACKGROUND

Patients with HF rarely enroll in hospice. Little is known about how hospice affects this group's health care use.

METHODS

Using a propensity score-matched sample of Medicare decedents with ≥2 HF discharges within 6 months, an Outcome and Assessment Information Set (OASIS) assessment, and subsequent death, we used Medicare administrative, claims, and patient assessment data to compare hospitalizations, intensive care unit stays, and emergency department visits for those beneficiaries who enrolled in hospice and those who did not.

RESULTS

The propensity score-matched sample included 3,067 beneficiaries in each group with a mean age of 82 years; 53% were female, and 15% were Black, Asian, or Hispanic. For objective 1, there were no differences in the characteristics, symptom burden, or functional status between groups that were associated with hospice enrollment. For objective 2, in the 6 months after the second HF discharge, the hospice group had significantly fewer emergency department visits (2.64 vs. 2.82; p = 0.04), hospital days (3.90 vs. 4.67; p < 0.001), and intensive care unit stays (1.25 vs. 1.51; p < 0.001); they were less likely to die in the hospital (3% vs. 56%; p < 0.001), and they had longer median survival (80 days vs. 71 days; log-rank test p = 0.004).

CONCLUSIONS

Beneficiaries' characteristics, including symptom burden and functional status, do not predict hospice enrollment. Those patients who enrolled in hospice used less health care, survived longer, and were less likely to die in the hospital. A tailored hospice model may be needed to increase enrollment and offer benefits to patients with HF.

Social and organizational practices that influence hospice utilization in nursing homes

Hospice has grown considerably but the likelihood that someone gets hospice depends on social and organizational practices. This article shows how staff beliefs and work routines influenced hospice utilization in two nursing homes. In one, 76% of residents died on hospice and in the other 24% did. Staff identified barriers to hospice including families who saw hospice as giving up and gaps in the reimbursement system. At the high-hospice nursing home, staff said hospice care extended beyond what they provided on their own. At the low-hospice nursing home, an influential group said hospice was essentially the same as their own end-of-life care and therefore needlessly duplicative. Staff at the high-hospice nursing home proactively approached families about hospice, whereas staff at the low-hospice nursing home took a reactive approach, getting hospice when families asked for it. Findings demonstrate how staff beliefs and practices regarding hospice shape end-of-life care in nursing homes.

Measuring the quality of end-of-life care: Development, testing, and cultural validation of the Danish version of Views of Informal Carers' Evaluation of Services-Short Form

BACKGROUND

The perspectives of patients and relatives are important in the improvement of the quality of health care. However, the quality of end-of-life care has not been systematically evaluated in Scandinavia.

AIM

To develop or adapt and subsequently validate a questionnaire assessing the quality of end-of-life care in Denmark. The questionnaire was intended for bereaved relatives in order to assess the quality of care in the last 3 months of the patient's life and the circumstances surrounding death.

DESIGN AND DATA SOURCES

Based on the literature and interviews with 15 bereaved relatives and 17 healthcare professionals, relevant topics to include in a questionnaire were identified. The topics were prioritized by 100 bereaved relatives and subsequently compared to existing questionnaires. The chosen questionnaire was tested by cognitive interviews with 36 bereaved relatives.

RESULTS

Most of the important topics were covered by the Views of Informal Carers' Evaluation of Services-Short Form, but not all Danish settings (e.g. home care by a palliative team) were covered. These settings were added to the Views of Informal Carers' Evaluation of Services-Short Form, and a few adaptations were made before a Danish version of the Views of Informal Carers' Evaluation of Services-Short Form was tested by cognitive interviews. This cultural validation showed that the slightly adapted Danish version was perceived as relevant, understandable, and acceptable. Furthermore, the cognitive interviews gave insight in the comprehension and interpretation of Views of Informal Carers' Evaluation of Services-Short Form items.

CONCLUSION

With a few adaptations, the British Views of Informal Carers' Evaluation of Services-Short Form was relevant in a Danish setting.

Awareness and Misperceptions of Hospice and Palliative Care: A Population-Based Survey Study

BACKGROUND

Despite the documented benefits of palliative and hospice care on improving patients' quality of life, these services remain underutilized. Multiple factors limit the utilization of these services, including patients' and caregivers' lack of knowledge and misperceptions.

OBJECTIVES

To examine palliative and hospice care awareness, misperceptions, and receptivity among community-dwelling adults.

DESIGN

Cross-sectional study.

SUBJECTS

New York State residents ≥18 years old who participated in the 2016 Empire State Poll.

OUTCOMES MEASURED

Palliative and hospice care awareness, misperceptions, and receptivity.

RESULTS

Of the 800 participants, 664 (83%) and 216 (27%) provided a definition of hospice care and palliative care, respectively. Of those who defined hospice care, 399 (60%) associated it with end-of-life care, 89 (13.4%) mentioned it was comfort care, and 35 (5.3%) reported hospice care provides care to patients and families. Of those who defined palliative care (n = 216), 57 (26.4%) mentioned it provided symptom management to patients, 47 (21.9%) stated it was comfort care, and 19 (8.8%) reported it was applicable in any course of an illness. Of those who defined hospice or palliative care, 248 (37.3%) had a misperception about hospice care and 115 (53.2%) had a misperception about palliative care.

CONCLUSIONS

Most community-dwelling adults did not mention the major components of palliative and hospice care in their definitions, implying a low level of awareness of these services, and misinformation is common among community-dwelling adults. Palliative and hospice care education initiatives are needed to both increase awareness of and reduce misperceptions about these services.

Variation in Hospice Services by Location of Care: Nursing Home Versus Assisted Living Facility Versus Home

OBJECTIVES

To describe differences in hospice services for patients living at home, in nursing homes or in assisted living facilities, including the overall number and duration of visits by different hospice care providers across varying lengths of stay.

DESIGN

Retrospective cohort study using hospice patient electronic medical record data.

SETTING

Large, national hospice provider.

PARTICIPANTS

Data from 32,605 hospice patients who received routine hospice care from 2009 to 2014 were analyzed.

MEASUREMENTS

Descriptive statistics were calculated for utilization measures for each type of provider and by location of care. Frequency and duration of service contacts were standardized to a 1 week period and pairwise comparisons were used to detect differences in care provided between the three settings.

RESULTS

Minimal differences were found in overall intensity of service contacts across settings, however, the mix of services were different for patients living at home versus nursing home versus assisted living facility. Overall, more nurse care was provided at the beginning and end of the hospice episode; intensity of aide care services was higher in the middle portion of the hospice episode. Nearly 43% of the sample had hospice stays less than 2 weeks and up to 20% had stays greater than 6 months.

CONCLUSION

There are significant differences between characteristics of hospice patients in different settings, as well as the mix of services they receive. Medicare hospice payment methodology was revised starting in 2016. While the new payment structure is in greater alignment with the U shape distribution of services, it will be important to evaluate the impact of the new payment methodology on length of stay and mix of services by different providers across settings of care.

Hospice use for the patient with advanced Alzheimer’s disease: The role of the geriatric psychiatrist

Advanced Alzheimer’s disease (AD) can place an immense burden on caregivers as they struggle to provide end-of-life (EOL) care for the patient. Palliative care, as delivered by hospice, provides a viable solution. Hospice maintains the patient’s quality of life (QOL) and helps the family during the grieving process. However, many providers are not familiar with hospice and its care for advanced AD patients. Geriatric psychiatrists can be central in implementing hospice, and they can remain an important part of the care once it is in place. A principal clinical challenge is establishing the six-month prognosis for such patients, which is a prerequisite for initiating hospice admission.

End-of-Life Care in Nursing Homes: From Care Processes to Quality

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVE

Nursing homes (NHs) are an important setting for the provision of palliative and end-of-life (EOL) care. Excessive reliance on hospitalizations at EOL and infrequent enrollment in hospice are key quality concerns in this setting. We examined the association between communication-among NH providers and between providers and residents/family members-and two EOL quality measures (QMs): in-hospital deaths and hospice use.

DESIGN AND METHODS

We developed two measures of communication by using a survey tool implemented in a random sample of U.S. NHs in 2011-12. Using secondary data (Minimum Data Set, Medicare, and hospice claims), we developed two risk-adjusted quality metrics for in-hospital death and hospice use. In the 1201 NHs, which completed the survey, we identified 54,526 residents, age 65+, who died in 2011. Psychometric assessment of the two communication measures included principal factor and internal consistency reliability analyses. Random-effect logistic and weighted least-square regression models were estimated to develop facility-level risk-adjusted QMs, and to assess the effect of communication measures on the quality metrics.

RESULTS

Better communication with residents/family members was statistically significantly (p = 0.015) associated with fewer in-hospital deaths. However, better communication among providers was significantly (p = 0.006) associated with lower use of hospice.

CONCLUSIONS

Investing in NHs to improve communication between providers and residents/family may lead to fewer in-hospital deaths. Improved communication between providers appears to reduce, rather than increase, NH-to-hospice referrals. The actual impact of improved provider communication on residents' EOL care quality needs to be better understood.

Hospice Use Following Implantable Cardioverter-Defibrillator Implantation in Older Patients: Results From the National Cardiovascular Data Registry

BACKGROUND

Older recipients of implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs) are at increased risk for short-term mortality in comparison with younger patients. Although hospice use is common among decedents aged >65, its use among older ICD recipients is unknown.

METHODS AND RESULTS

Medicare patients aged >65 matched to data in the National Cardiovascular Data Registry - ICD Registry from January 1, 2006 to March 31, 2010 were eligible for analysis (N=194 969). The proportion of ICD recipients enrolled in hospice, cumulative incidence of hospice admission, and factors associated with time to hospice enrollment were evaluated. Five years after device implantation, 50.9% of patients were either deceased or in hospice. Among decedents, 36.8% received hospice services. The cumulative incidence of hospice enrollment, accounting for the competing risk of death, was 4.7% (95% confidence interval [CI], 4.6%-4.8%) within 1 year and 21.3% (95% CI, 20.7%-21.8%) at 5 years. Factors most strongly associated with shorter time to hospice enrollment were older age (adjusted hazard ratio, 1.77; 95% CI, 1.73-1.81), class IV heart failure (versus class I; adjusted hazard ratio, 1.79; 95% CI, 1.66-1.94); ejection fraction <20 (adjusted hazard ratio, 1.57; 95% CI, 1.48-1.67), and greater hospice use among decedents in the patients' health referral region.

CONCLUSIONS

More than one-third of older patients dying with ICDs receive hospice care. Five years after implantation, half of older ICD recipients are either dead or in hospice. Hospice providers should be prepared for ICD patients, whose clinical trajectories and broader palliative care needs require greater focus.

Are Hospice Admission Practices Associated With Hospice Enrollment for Older African Americans and Whites?

CONTEXT

Hospices that enroll patients receiving expensive palliative therapies may serve more African Americans because of their greater preferences for aggressive end-of-life care.

OBJECTIVES

Examine the association between hospices' admission practices and enrollment of African Americans and whites.

METHODS

This was a cross-sectional study of 61 North and South Carolina hospices. We developed a hospice admission practices scale; higher scores indicate less restrictive practices, that is, greater frequency with which hospices admitted those receiving chemotherapy, inotropes, and so forth. In separate multivariate analyses for each racial group, we examined the relationship between the proportion of decedents (age ≥ 65) served by a hospice in their service area (2008 Medicare Data) and admission practices while controlling for health care resources (e.g., hospital beds) and market concentration in the area, ownership, and budget.

RESULTS

Nonprofit hospices and those with larger budgets reported less restrictive admission practices. In bivariate analyses, hospices with less restrictive admission practices served a larger proportion of patients in both racial groups (P < 0.001). However, in the multivariate models, nonprofit ownership and larger budgets but not admission practices predicted the outcome.

CONCLUSION

Hospices with larger budgets served a greater proportion of African Americans and whites in their service area. Although larger hospices reported less restrictive admission practices, they also may have provided other services that may be important to patients regardless of race, such as more in-home support or assistance with nonmedical expenses, and participated in more outreach activities increasing their visibility and referral base. Future research should explore factors that influence decisions about hospice enrollment among racially diverse older adults.

The Impact of Green House Adoption on Medicare Spending and Utilization

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the impact of the Green House (GH) model of nursing home care on Medicare acute hospital, other hospital, skilled nursing facility, and hospice spending and utilization.

DATA SOURCES/STUDY SETTING

Medicare claims and enrollment data from 2005 through 2010 merged with resident-level minimum data set (MDS) assessments.

STUDY DESIGN

Using a difference-in-differences framework, we compared Medicare Part A and hospice expenditures and utilization in 15 nursing homes that adopted the GH model relative to changes over the same time period in 223 matched nonadopting nursing homes. We applied the same method for residents of GH homes and for residents of "legacy" homes, the original nursing homes that stay open alongside the GH home(s).

PRINCIPAL FINDINGS

The adoption of GH had no detectable impact on Medicare Part A (plus hospice) spending and utilization across all residents living in the nursing home. When we analyzed residents living in GH homes and legacy units separately, however, we found that the adoption of the GH model reduced overall annual Medicare Part A spending by $7,746 per resident, although this appeared to be partially offset by an increase in spending in legacy homes.

CONCLUSIONS

To the extent that the GH model reduces Medicare spending, adopting nursing homes do not receive any of the related Medicare savings under traditional payment mechanisms. New approaches that are currently being developed and piloted, which better align financial incentives for providers and payers, could incentivize greater adoption of the GH model.

Changes in Medicare costs with the growth of hospice care in nursing homes

BACKGROUND

Nursing home residents' use of hospice has substantially increased. Whether this increase in hospice use reduces end-of-life expenditures is unknown.

METHODS

The expansion of hospice between 2004 and 2009 created a natural experiment, allowing us to conduct a difference-in-differences matched analysis to examine changes in Medicare expenditures in the last year of life that were associated with this expansion. We also assessed intensive care unit (ICU) use in the last 30 days of life and, for patients with advanced dementia, feeding-tube use and hospital transfers within the last 90 days of life. We compared a subset of hospice users from 2009, whose use of hospice was attributed to hospice expansion, with a matched subset of non-hospice users from 2004, who were considered likely to have used hospice had they died in 2009.

RESULTS

Of 786,328 nursing home decedents, 27.6% in 2004 and 39.8% in 2009 elected to use hospice. The 2004 and 2009 matched hospice and nonhospice cohorts were similar (mean age, 85 years; 35% male; 25% with cancer). The increase in hospice use was associated with significant decreases in the rates of hospital transfers (2.4 percentage-point reduction), feeding-tube use (1.2 percentage-point reduction), and ICU use (7.1 percentage-point reduction). The mean length of stay in hospice increased from 72.1 days in 2004 to 92.6 days in 2009. Between 2004 and 2009, the expansion of hospice was associated with a mean net increase in Medicare expenditures of $6,761 (95% confidence interval, 6,335 to 7,186), reflecting greater additional spending on hospice care ($10,191) than reduced spending on hospital and other care ($3,430).

CONCLUSIONS

The growth in hospice care for nursing home residents was associated with less aggressive care near death but at an overall increase in Medicare expenditures. (Funded by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and the National Institute on Aging.).

Hospice use among nursing home and non-nursing home patients

BACKGROUND

For nursing home patients, hospice use and associated costs have grown dramatically. A better understanding of hospice in all care settings, especially how patients move across settings, is needed to inform debates about appropriateness of use and potential policy reform.

OBJECTIVE

Our aim was to describe characteristics and utilization of hospice among nursing home and non-nursing home patients.

DESIGN AND PARTICIPANTS

Medicare, Medicaid and Minimum Data Set data, 1999-2008, were merged for 3,771 hospice patients aged 65 years and above from a safety net health system. Patients were classified into four groups who received hospice: 1) only in nursing homes; 2) outside of nursing homes; 3) crossover patients utilizing hospice in both settings; and 4) "near-transition" patients who received hospice within 30 days of a nursing home stay.

MAIN MEASURES

Differences in demographics, hospice diagnoses and length of stay, utilization and costs are presented with descriptive statistics.

KEY RESULTS

Nursing home hospice patients were older, and more likely to be women and to have dementia (p < 0.0001). Nearly one-third (32.3 %) of crossover patients had hospice stays > 6 months, compared with the other groups (16 % of nursing home hospice only, 10.7 % of non-nursing home hospice and 7.6 % of those with near transitions) (p < 0.0001). Overall, 27.7 % of patients had a hospice stay <1 week, but there were marked differences between groups-48 % of near-transition patients vs. 7.4 % of crossover patients had these short hospice stays (p < 0.0001). Crossover and near-transition hospice patients had higher costs to Medicare compared to other groups (p < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

Dichotomizing hospice users only into nursing home vs. non-nursing home patients is difficult, due to transitions across settings. Hospice patients with transitions accrue higher costs. The impact of changes to the hospice benefit on patients who live or move through nursing homes near the end of life should be carefully considered.

Family perceptions of quality of hospice care in the nursing home

CONTEXT

Nursing homes (NHs) are increasingly the site of hospice care. High quality of care is dependent on successful NH-hospice collaboration.

OBJECTIVES

To examine bereaved family members' perceptions of NH-hospice collaborations in terms of what they believe went well or could have been improved.

METHODS

Focus groups were conducted with bereaved family members from five diverse geographic regions, and included participants from inner city and rural settings, with oversampling of African Americans.

RESULTS

A total of 28 participants (14.8% African American, mean age 61.4 years) identified three major aspects of collaboration as important to care delivery. First, most (67.9%) voiced concerns with knowing who (NH or hospice) is responsible for which aspects of patient care. Second, nearly half (42.9%) stated concern about information coordination between the NH and hospice. Finally, 67.9% of the participants mentioned the need for hospice to advocate for high-quality care rather than their having to directly do so on behalf of their family members.

CONCLUSION

The important concerns raised by bereaved family members about NH-hospice collaboration have been incorporated into the revised Family Evaluation of Hospice Care, a post-death survey used to evaluate quality of hospice care.

Family Members' Experience With Hospice in Nursing Homes

Research has documented numerous benefits and challenges associated with receipt of hospice care in nursing homes; however, study of this partnership from the perspective of residents' family members has been limited. The purpose of this qualitative investigation was to explore family members' experience with hospice services received in the nursing home setting. Researchers conducted a secondary data analysis of 175 family member interviews using a thematic analytic approach. Findings highlighted the critical role of communication in supporting residents and their family members. Care coordination, support and oversight, and role confusion also impacted family members' experience of hospice care in the nursing home. Efforts directed at enhancing communication and more clearly articulating the roles of members of the health care team are indicated.

Predictors of six-month mortality among nursing home residents: diagnoses may be more predictive than functional disability

OBJECTIVE

Loss of daily living functions can be a marker for end of life and possible hospice eligibility. Unfortunately, data on patient's functional abilities is not available in all settings. In this study we compare predictive accuracy of two indices designed to predict 6-month mortality among nursing home residents. One is based on traditional measures of functional deterioration and the other on patients' diagnoses and demography.

METHODS

We created the Hospice ELigibility Prediction (HELP) Index by examining mortality of 140,699 Veterans Administration (VA) nursing home residents. For these nursing home residents, the available data on history of hospital admissions were divided into training (112,897 cases) and validation (27,832 cases) sets. The training data were used to estimate the parameters of the HELP Index based on (1) diagnoses, (2) age on admission, and (3) number of diagnoses at admission. The validation data were used to assess the accuracy of predictions of the HELP Index. The cross-validated accuracy of the HELP Index was compared with the Barthel Index (BI) of functional ability obtained from 296,052 VA nursing home residents. A receiver operating characteristic curve was used to examine sensitivity and specificity of the predicted odds of mortality.

RESULTS

The area under the curve (AUC) for the HELP Index was 0.838. This was significantly (α <0.01) higher than the AUC for the BI of 0.692.

CONCLUSIONS

For nursing home residents, comorbid diagnoses predict 6-month mortality more accurately than functional status. The HELP Index can be used to estimate 6-month mortality from hospital data and can guide prognostic discussions prior to and following nursing home admission.

Hospice family members' perceptions of and experiences with end-of-life care in the nursing home

OBJECTIVE

Even though more than 25% of Americans die in nursing homes, end-of-life care has consistently been found to be less than adequate in this setting. Even for those residents on hospice, end-of-life care has been found to be problematic. This study had 2 research questions; (1) How do family members of hospice nursing home residents differ in their anxiety, depression, quality of life, social networks, perceptions of pain medication, and health compared with family members of community dwelling hospice patients? (2) What are family members' perceptions of and experiences with end-of-life care in the nursing home setting?

METHODS

This study is a secondary mixed methods analysis of interviews with family members of hospice nursing home residents and a comparative statistical analysis of standard outcome measures between family members of hospice patients in the nursing home and family members of hospice patients residing in the community.

RESULTS

Outcome measures for family members of nursing home residents were compared (n = 176) with family members of community-dwelling hospice patients (n = 267). The family members of nursing home residents reported higher quality of life; however, levels of anxiety, depression, perceptions of pain medicine, and health were similar for hospice family members in the nursing home and in the community. Lending an understanding to the stress for hospice family members of nursing home residents, concerns were found with collaboration between the nursing home and the hospice, nursing home care that did not meet family expectations, communication problems, and resident care concerns including pain management. Some family members reported positive end-of-life care experiences in the nursing home setting.

CONCLUSION

These interviews identify a multitude of barriers to quality end-of-life care in the nursing home setting, and demonstrate that support for family members is an essential part of quality end-of-life care for residents. This study suggests that nursing homes should embrace the opportunity to demonstrate the value of family participation in the care-planning process.

National hospice survey results: for-profit status, community engagement, and service

IMPORTANCE The impact of the substantial growth in for-profit hospices in the United States on quality and hospice access has been intensely debated, yet little is known about how for-profit and nonprofit hospices differ in activities beyond service delivery. OBJECTIVE To determine the association between hospice ownership and (1) provision of community benefits, (2) setting and timing of the hospice population served, and (3) community outreach. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS Cross-sectional survey (the National Hospice Survey), conducted from September 2008 through November 2009, of a national random sample of 591 Medicare-certified hospices operating throughout the United States. EXPOSURES For-profit or nonprofit hospice ownership. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES Provision of community benefits; setting and timing of the hospice population served; and community outreach. RESULTS A total of 591 hospices completed our survey (84% response rate). For-profit hospices were less likely than nonprofit hospices to provide community benefits including serving as training sites (55% vs 82%; adjusted relative risk [ARR], 0.67 [95% CI, 0.59-0.76]), conducting research (18% vs 23%; ARR, 0.67 [95% CI, 0.46-0.99]), and providing charity care (80% vs 82%; ARR, 0.88 [95% CI, 0.80-0.96]). For-profit compared with nonprofit hospices cared for a larger proportion of patients with longer expected hospice stays including those in nursing homes (30% vs 25%; P = .009). For-profit hospices were more likely to exceed Medicare's aggregate annual cap (22% vs 4%; ARR, 3.66 [95% CI, 2.02-6.63]) and had a higher patient disenrollment rate (10% vs 6%; P &lt; .001). For-profit were more likely than nonprofit hospices to engage in outreach to low-income communities (61% vs 46%; ARR, 1.23 [95% CI, 1.05-1.44]) and minority communities (59% vs 48%; ARR, 1.18 [95% CI, 1.02-1.38]) and less likely to partner with oncology centers (25% vs 33%; ARR, 0.59 [95% CI, 0.44-0.80]). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE Ownership-related differences are apparent among hospices in community benefits, population served, and community outreach. Although Medicare's aggregate annual cap may curb the incentive to focus on long-stay hospice patients, additional regulatory measures such as public reporting of hospice disenrollment rates should be considered as the share of for-profit hospices in the United States continues to increase.

Targeted investment improves access to hospice and palliative care

CONTEXT

Availability of hospice and palliative care is increasing, despite lack of a clear national strategy for developing and evaluating their penetration into and impact on the target population.

OBJECTIVES

To determine whether targeted investment (i.e., strategic grants made by one charitable foundation) in hospice and palliative care in one U.S. state (North Carolina [NC]) led to improved access to end-of-life care services as indicated by hospice utilization.

METHODS

Access was measured by the death service ratio (DSR), defined as the proportion of people who died and were served by hospice for at least one day before death. Calculation of the DSR is based on counts of patients accessing hospice by county in a given year (numerator) and U.S. Census projected population data for that county (denominator). Multilevel modeling was the primary analytic strategy used to generate two models: 1) comparison of the DSR in counties with vs. without philanthropic funding and 2) relationship between years since receipt of a philanthropic grant and DSR.

RESULTS

In NC, the average DSR increased from 20.7% in 2003 to 35.8% in 2009 (55% increase). In 2009, 82 of 100 NC counties had a DSR below the U.S. average (41.6%). In Model 1, significant associations were found between county population and DSR (P=0.03) and between receipt of philanthropic funding and DSR (P=0.01); on average, funded counties had a DSR that was 2.63 percentage points higher than unfunded counties.

CONCLUSION

Receipt of philanthropic funding appeared to be associated with improved access to palliative care and hospice services in NC.

Race and residence: intercounty variation in black-white differences in hospice use

CONTEXT

Although blacks use hospice at lower rates than whites in the U.S., racial differences in hospice use vary by geographic area.

OBJECTIVES

To describe intercounty variability in black-white differences in hospice use and the association with the supply of health care resources.

METHODS

Subjects were a retrospective cohort of Medicare beneficiaries in North and South Carolina who died in 2008. Using Wilcoxon tests and logistic regression, we examined the differences in the supply of health care resources (hospital beds and physicians per population age 65 years and older, percentage of generalists, etc.) between counties with and without racial disparity in hospice use. Counties with a racial disparity had significantly (P < 0.05) higher rates of hospice use among whites than blacks.

RESULTS

Of 76,283 decedents in 128 counties, 19.78% were black. In the 39 counties (30.47%) with racial disparity in hospice use, the mean proportion of whites who enrolled in hospice was 41.3% vs. 28.66% of blacks (P < 0.0001). Counties with more hospital beds per population age 65 years and older had a higher odds (OR, 1.39; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.04-1.86) and those with a larger proportion of generalists had a lower odds (OR, 0.01; 95% CI 0.001-0.476) of having a racial disparity in hospice use.

CONCLUSION

In most counties, the rates of hospice use were similar for blacks and whites. In counties with a racial disparity, there were more resources to deliver aggressive care (i.e., hospital beds and specialists). Because of a greater preference for life-sustaining therapies, blacks may be more likely to use acute care services at the end of life when resources for the delivery of these services are readily available.

Community pharmacists' attitudes toward palliative care: an Australian nationwide survey

BACKGROUND

Pharmacists are among the most accessible health care professionals in the community, yet are often not involved in community palliative care teams.

OBJECTIVE

We investigated community pharmacists' attitudes, beliefs, feelings, and knowledge about palliative care as a first step towards determining how best to facilitate the inclusion of community pharmacists on the palliative care team.

METHOD

A cross-sectional descriptive survey design was used.

SUBJECTS

Community pharmacists around Australia were invited to participate; 250 completed surveys were returned.

MEASUREMENTS

A survey was constructed to measure pharmacists' knowledge and experience, emotions and beliefs about palliative care.

RESULTS

Pharmacists were generally positive about providing services and supports for palliative care patients, yet they also reported negative beliefs and emotions about palliative care. In addition, pharmacists had good knowledge of some aspects of palliative care, but misconceptions about other aspects. Pharmacists' beliefs and knowledge about palliative care predicted--and therefore underpinned--a positive attitude towards palliative care and the provision of services and supports for palliative care patients.

CONCLUSION

The results provide evidence that pharmacists need training and support to facilitate their involvement in providing services and supports for palliative care patients, and highlight areas that training and support initiatives should focus on.

Geriatric palliative care in long-term care settings with a focus on nursing homes

Almost 1.7 million older Americans live in nursing homes, representing a large proportion of the frailest, most vulnerable elders needing long-term care. In the future, increasing numbers of older adults are expected to spend time and to die in nursing homes. Thus, understanding and addressing the palliative care needs of this population are critical. The goals of this paper are to describe briefly the current state of knowledge about palliative care needs, processes, and outcomes for nursing home residents; identify gaps in this knowledge; and propose priorities for future research in this area.

Hospice utilization in nursing homes: association with facility end-of-life care practices

OBJECTIVES

Hospice care provided to nursing home (NH) residents has been shown to improve the quality of end-of-life (EOL) care. However, hospice utilization in NHs is typically low. This study examined the relationship between facility self-reported EOL practices and residents' hospice use and length of stay.

DESIGN

The study was based on a retrospective cohort of NH residents. Medicare hospice claims, Minimum Data Set, Online Survey, Certification, and Reporting system and the Area Resource File were linked with a survey of directors of nursing (DON) regarding institutional EOL practice patterns (EOLC Survey).

SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS

In total, 4,540 long-term-care residents who died in 2007 in 290 facilities which participated in the EOLC Survey were included in this study.

MEASUREMENTS

We measured NHs' tendency to offer hospice to residents and to initiate aggressive treatments (hospital transfers and feeding tubes) for EOL residents based on DON's responses to survey items. Residents' hospice utilization was determined using Medicare hospice claims.

RESULTS

The prevalence of hospice use was 18%. The average length of stay was 93 days. After controlling for individual risk factors, facilities' self-reported practice measures associated with residents' likelihood of using hospice were tendency to offer hospice (p = .048) and tendency to hospitalize (p = .002). Residents in NHs reporting higher tendency to hospitalize tended to enroll in hospice closer to death.

CONCLUSION

Residents' hospice utilization is not only associated with individual and facility characteristics but also with NHs' self-reported EOL care practices. Potential interventions to effect greater use of hospice may need to focus on facility-level care processes and practices.

Hospice use among nursing home patients

OBJECTIVES

Among hospice patients who lived in nursing homes, we sought to: (1) report trends in hospice use over time, (2) describe factors associated with very long hospice stays (>6 months), and (3) describe hospice utilization patterns.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS

We conducted a retrospective study from an urban, Midwest cohort of hospice patients, aged ≥ 65 years, who lived in nursing homes between 1999 and 2008.

MEASUREMENTS

Demographic data, clinical characteristics, and health care utilization were collected from Medicare claims, Medicaid claims, and Minimum Data Set assessments. Patients with overlapping nursing home and hospice stays were identified. χ(2) and t tests were used to compare patients with less than or longer than a 6-month hospice stay. Logistic regression was used to model the likelihood of being on hospice longer than 6 months.

RESULTS

A total of 1452 patients received hospice services while living in nursing homes. The proportion of patients with noncancer primary hospice diagnoses increased over time; the mean length of hospice stay (114 days) remained high throughout the 10-year period. More than 90% of all patients had 3 or more comorbid diagnoses. Nearly 20% of patients had hospice stays longer than 6 months. The hospice patients with stays longer than 6 months were observed to have a smaller percentage of cancer (25% vs 30%) as a primary hospice diagnosis. The two groups did not differ by mean cognitive status scores, number of comorbidities, or activities of daily living impairments. The greater than 6 months group was much more likely to disenroll before death: 33.9% compared with 13.8% (P < .0001). A variety of patterns of utilization of hospice across settings were observed; 21% of patients spent some of their hospice stay in the community.

CONCLUSIONS

Any policy proposals that impact the hospice benefit in nursing homes should take into account the difficulty in predicting the clinical course of these patients, varying utilization patterns and transitions across settings, and the importance of supporting multiple approaches for delivery of palliative care in this setting.

Influence of hospice on nursing home residents with advanced dementia who received Medicare-skilled nursing facility care near the end of life

OBJECTIVES

To examine differences in outcomes according to hospice status of skilled nursing facility (SNF) care recipients.

DESIGN

Retrospective cohort.

SETTING

Three thousand three hundred fifty-three U.S. nursing homes (NHs).

PARTICIPANTS

Four thousand three hundred forty-four persons with advanced dementia who died in NHs in 2006 and received SNF care within 90 days of death were studied, 1,086 of these also received hospice before death: 705 after SNF care, and 381 concurrent with SNF care.

MEASUREMENTS

Treatments, persistent pain and dyspnea, and hospital death.

RESULTS

Decedents with any hospice received fewer medications, injections, feeding tubes, intravenous fluids, and therapy services and more hypnotics than those without hospice (all P < .001). Decedents with hospice after SNF care received fewer antipsychotics and those with hospice concurrent with SNF care received more antipsychotics than those without (all P < .001). Multivariate logistic regressions showed that decedents with hospice after SNF had lower likelihood of persistent dyspnea (adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 0.63, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.45-0.87) and hospital death (AOR = 0.02, 95% = CI 0.01, 0.07) than those without hospice. Decedents with hospice concurrent with SNF care had a higher likelihood of persistent pain (AOR = 1.65, 95% CI = 1.23, 2.19) and a lower likelihood of hospital death (AOR = 0.13, 95% CI = 0.07, 0.26) than those without hospice.

CONCLUSION

Residents dying with advanced dementia who received SNF care in the last 90 days of life had fewer aggressive treatments and lower odds of hospital death if they also received hospice care at any point during that time. Associations between hospice and persistent pain or dyspnea differed according to whether hospice care was received concurrent with or after SNF care.

End-of-life quality-of-care measures for nursing homes: place of death and hospice

OBJECTIVE

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) publishes a web-based quality report card for nursing homes. The quality measures (QMs) do not assess quality of end-of-life (EOL) care, which affects a large proportion of residents. This study developed prototype EOL QMs that can be calculated from data sources available for all nursing homes nationally.

METHODS

The study included approximately 1.5 million decedents residing in 16,000 nursing homes during 2003-2007, nationally. Minimum Data Set (MDS) data were linked to Medicare enrollment files, hospital claims, and hospice claims. Random effect logistic models were estimated to develop risk-adjustment models predicting two outcome measures (place of death [POD] and hospice enrollment), which were then used to construct two EOL QMs. The distributional properties of the QMs were investigated.

RESULTS

The QMs exhibited moderate stability over time. They were more stable in identifying quality outliers among the larger nursing homes and in identifying poor-quality outliers than high-quality outliers.

CONCLUSIONS

This study offers two QMs specialized to EOL care in nursing homes that can be calculated from data that are readily available and could be incorporated in the Nursing Home Compare (NHC) report card. Further work to validate the QMs is required.

Health-related quality of life: expanding a conceptual framework to include older adults who receive long-term services and supports

For older adults receiving long-term services and supports (LTSS), health-related quality of life (HRQoL) has emerged as a critical construct to examine because of its focus on components of well-being, which are affected by progressive changes in health status, health care, and social support. HRQoL is a health-focused quality of life (QOL) concept that encompasses aspects of QOL that affect health such as function, physical, and emotional health. Examining existing theoretical constructs and indicators of HRQoL among LTSS recipients led us to posit a revised conceptual framework for studying HRQoL among LTSS recipients. We adapted the Wilson and Cleary HRQoL model by expanding function to specifically include cognition, adding behavior and LTSS environmental characteristics in order to create a more robust HRQoL conceptual framework for older adults receiving LTSS. This refined conceptual model allows for the measurement of a mix of structural, process, and outcome measures. Continued development of a multidimensional conceptual framework with specific HRQoL measures that account for the unique characteristics of older adults receiving LTSS will contribute significantly to LTSS research, policy, and planning efforts.

Which hospice patients with cancer are able to die in the setting of their choice? Results of a retrospective cohort study

PURPOSE

To determine which hospice patients with cancer prefer to die at home and to define factors associated with an increased likelihood of dying at home.

METHODS

An electronic health record-based retrospective cohort study was conducted in three hospice programs in Florida, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. Main measures included preferred versus actual site of death.

RESULTS

Of 7,391 patients, preferences regarding place of death were determined at admission for 5,837 (79%). After adjusting for other characteristics, patients who preferred to die at home were more likely to die at home (adjusted proportions, 56.5% v 37.0%; odds ratio [OR], 2.21; 95% CI, 1.77 to 2.76). Among those patients (n = 3,152) who preferred to die at home, in a multivariable logistic regression model, patients were more likely to die at home if they had at least one visit per day in the first 4 days of hospice care (adjusted proportions, 61% v 54%; OR, 1.23; 95% CI, 1.07 to 1.41), if they were married (63% v 54%; OR, 1.35; 95% CI, 1.10 to 1.44), and if they had an advance directive (65% v 50%; OR, 2.11; 95% CI, 1.54 to 2.65). Patients with moderate or severe pain were less likely to die at home (OR, 0.56; 95% CI, 0.45 to 0.64), as were patients with better functional status (higher Palliative Performance Scale score: < 40, 64.8%; 40 to 70, 50.2%; OR, 0.79; 95% CI, 0.67 to 0.93; > 70, 40.5%; OR, 0.53; 95% CI, 0.35 to 0.82).

CONCLUSION

Increased hospice visit frequency may increase the likelihood of patients being able to die in the setting of their choice.

Dying in U.S. nursing homes with advanced dementia: how does health care use differ for residents with, versus without, end-of-life Medicare skilled nursing facility care?

BACKGROUND

Because Medicare policy restricts simultaneous Medicare hospice and skilled nursing facility (SNF) care, we compared hospice use and sites of death for SNF/non-SNF residents with advanced dementia; and, for those with SNF, we evaluated how subsequent hospice use was associated with dying in a hospital.

METHODS

This study includes (non-health maintenance organization [HMO]) residents of U.S. nursing homes (NHs) who died in 2006 with advanced dementia (n=99,370). Sites of death, Medicare SNF, and hospice use were identified using linked resident assessment and Medicare enrollment and claims data. Advanced dementia was identified by a diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease or dementia on the Minimum Data Set (MDS) or a Medicare claim in the last year of life and severe to very severe cognitive impairment (5 or 6 on the MDS cognitive performance scale). For residents with SNF, we used multivariate logistic regression with generalized estimating equations to estimate the effect of subsequent hospice enrollment on dying in a hospital.

RESULTS

Forty percent of U.S. NH residents dying with advanced dementia in 2006 had SNF care in the last 90 days of life. Those with versus without SNF less frequently used hospice (30% versus 46%), more frequently had short (≤7 days) hospice stays (40% versus 19%), and more frequently died in hospitals (14% versus 9%). Among residents with SNF, those with subsequent hospice use had a 98% lower likelihood of a hospital death (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.014, 0.025).

CONCLUSIONS

Dual hospice/SNF access may result in fewer hospital deaths and higher quality of life for dying NH residents.

Racial disparities in in-hospital death and hospice use among nursing home residents at the end of life

BACKGROUND

Significant racial disparities have been reported regarding nursing home residents' use of hospital and hospice care at the end of life (EOL).

OBJECTIVE

To examine whether the observed racial disparities in EOL care are due to within-facility or across-facility variations.

RESEARCH DESIGN AND SUBJECTS

Cross-sectional study of 49,048 long-term care residents (9.23% black and 90.77% white) in 555 New York State nursing homes who died during 2005-2007. The Minimum Data Set was linked with Medicare inpatient and hospice claims.

MEASURES

In-hospital death determined by inpatient claims and hospice use determined by hospice claims. For each outcome, risk factors were added sequentially to examine their partial effects on the racial differences. Hierarchical models were fit to test whether racial disparities are due to within-facility or across-facility variations.

RESULTS

40.33% of blacks and 24.07% of whites died in hospitals; 11.55% of blacks and 17.39% of whites used hospice. These differences are partially due to disparate use of feeding tubes, do-not-resuscitate and do-not-hospitalize orders. We find no racial disparities in in-hospital death [odds ratio (OR) of race=0.95; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.87-1.04] or hospice use (OR of race=0.90, 95% CI, 0.79-1.02) within same facilities. Living in facilities with 10% more blacks increases the odds of in-hospital death by 22% (OR=1.22, 95% CI, 1.17-1.26) and decreases the odds of hospice use by 15% (OR=0.85, 95% CI, 0.78-0.94).

CONCLUSIONS

Differential use of feeding tubes, do-not-resuscitate and do-not-hospitalize orders lead to racial differences in in-hospital death and hospice use. The remaining disparities are primarily due to overall EOL care practices in predominately black facilities, not to differential hospitalization and hospice-referral patterns within facilities.

The effect of Medicaid nursing home reimbursement policy on Medicare hospice use in nursing homes

OBJECTIVE

To understand how changes in Medicaid nursing home (NH) reimbursement policy and rates affect a NH's approach to end-of-life care (ie, its use of hospice).

METHODS

This longitudinal study merged US NH decedents' (1999 to 2004) resident assessment data (MDS) with Part A claims data to determine the proportion of a NH's decedents using hospice. Freestanding NHs across the 48 contiguous US states were included. A NH-level analytic file was merged with NH survey (ie, OSCAR) and area resource file data, and with annual data on state Medicaid NH rates, case-mix reimbursement policies, and hospice certificate of need (CON). NH fixed-effect (within) regression analysis examined the effect of changing state policies, controlling for differing time trends in CON and case-mix states and for facility-level and county-level attributes. Models were stratified by urban/rural status.

RESULTS

A $10 increase in the Medicaid rate resulted in a 0.41% [95% confidence interval (CI): 0.275, 0.553] increase in hospice use in urban NHs and a 0.37% decrease (95% CI: -0.676, -0.063) in rural NHs not adjacent to urban areas. There was a nonstatistically significant increase in rural NHs adjacent to urban areas. Introduction of case-mix reimbursement resulted in a 2.14% (95% CI: 1.388, 2.896) increase in hospice use in urban NHs, with comparable increases in rural NHs.

CONCLUSIONS

This study supports and extends previous research by showing changes in Medicaid NH reimbursement policies affect a NH's approach to end-of-life care. It also shows how policy changes can have differing effects depending on a NH's urban/rural status.

The influence of hospice use on nursing home and hospital use in assisted living among dual-eligible enrollees

OBJECTIVE

This study examined the impact of hospice enrollment on the probabilities of hospital and nursing home admissions among a sample of frail dual-eligible assisted living (AL) residents.

DESIGN

The study used a retrospective cohort design. We estimated bivariate probit models with 2 binary outcome variables: any hospital admissions and any nursing home admissions after assisted living enrollment.

SETTING

A total of 328 licensed AL communities accepting Medicaid waivers in Florida.

PARTICIPANTS

We identified all newly admitted dual-eligible AL residents in Florida between January and June of 2003 who had complete state assessment data (n = 658) and followed them for 6 to 12 months.

MEASUREMENTS

Using the Andersen behavioral model, predisposing (age, gender, race), enabling (marital status, available caregiver, hospice use), and need (ADL/IADL, comorbidity conditions, and incontinence) characteristics were included as predictors of 2 binary outcomes (hospital and nursing home admission). Demographics, functional status, and caregiver availability were obtained from the state client assessment database. Data on diagnosis and hospital, nursing home, and hospice use were obtained from Medicare and Medicaid claims. Death dates were obtained from the state vital statistics death certificate data.

RESULTS

The mean age of the study sample was 81.5 years. Three-fourths were female and 63% were White. The average resident had a combined ADL/IADL dependency score of 11.49. Fifty-eight percent of the sample had dementia. During the average 8.9-month follow-up period, 6.8% were enrolled in hospice and 10.2% died. Approximately 33% of the sample had been admitted into a hospital and 20% had been admitted into a nursing home. Bivariate probit models simultaneously predicting the likelihood of hospital and nursing home admissions showed that hospice enrollment was associated with lower likelihood of hospital (OR = 0.24, P < .01) and nursing home admissions (OR = 0.56, P < .05). Significant predictors of hospital admissions included higher Charlson Comorbidity Index score and incontinence. Predictors of nursing home admissions included higher Charlson Comorbidity Index score, the absence of available informal caregiver, and incontinence.

CONCLUSIONS

Hospice enrollment was associated with a lower likelihood of hospital and nursing home admissions, and, thus, may have allowed AL residents in need of palliative care to remain in the AL community. AL providers should support and facilitate hospice care among older frail dual-eligible AL residents. More research is needed to examine the impact of hospice care on resident quality of life and total health care expenditures among AL residents.