Mixed-Methods Study of End-of-Life Experiences of Patients With Hematologic Malignancies in Social Hospice Residential Home Care Settings.

Purpose: Hospice is underutilized by patients with hematologic malignancies (HM), and when patients are referred, they are typically more ill, hospitalized, and with shorter length of stay (LOS) than patients with solid tumors (ST), limiting research about home hospice care experiences of patients with HM. In this mixed-methods study, we examined the hospice experiences of patients with HM who died at residential care homes (RCHs), home-based settings in which volunteer caregivers and hospice staff provide end-of-life (EOL) care under the social hospice model.

Methods: We queried a registry of 535 hospice patients who died at RCHs between 2005 and 2020 that included quantitative medication administration data as well as qualitative data from hospice intake forms and written volunteer caregiver narratives.

Social Model Hospice Residential Care Homes: Whom Do They Really Serve?

Background: Most prefer to die at home, but the Medicare Hospice Benefit does not cover custodial care, making it difficult for terminally ill patients with housing insecurity and/or caregiver instability to access hospice care at home.

Objectives: To examine the characteristics of patients who received end-of-life care in community-run, residential care homes (RCHs) operating under the social model hospice.

Methods: A retrospective chart review of 500 residents who were admitted to one of three RCHs in Upstate New York over a 15-year period (2004-2019).

Antidepressant Use During Hospice Patients' Final Months on Routine Home Care.

Antidepressants can be used to manage symptoms at the end of life, but the dying process can impact their use. To examine the use of antidepressants during hospice patients' final months of home care. A retrospective case records review of 227 hospice patients in their last three months of care in a residential setting.

Informal Caregivers' Administration of Concentrated Liquid Morphine to Hospice Patients Receiving Home Care: Does Regimen Matter?

: Hospice patients receiving care at home rely on caregivers to manage liquid morphine for pain and dyspnea during the dying process. Medication is prescribed under varying regimens, yet caregivers are not required to record when morphine is used. Therefore, it is not known whether morphine use varies by regimen for hospice patients dying at home.

Engaging Future Healthcare Professionals as Caregivers to Hospice Patients in Comfort Care Homes.

Most people wish to die at home yet significant barriers exist in accessing care in one's home, especially for individuals with caregiver and/or housing instability. Across the U.S.

Comfort Care Homes: Pressures and Protocols in End-of-Life Care During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Comfort care homes are community-run, residential homes that provide end-of-life care to terminally ill individuals who lack safe, secure housing and a reliable caregiver system. As nonprofit, non-medical facilities, these homes have faced both new and magnified challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This article highlights the value of collaborative interagency partnerships and shares reflections on the unique pandemic pressures faced by comfort care homes.

Informal Caregivers' Administration of Hospice Prescribed Lorazepam to Homecare Patients With Anxiety.

Background: A growing number of informal caregivers (IFCs) manage hospice patients' anxiety by administering lorazepam (Ativan), yet little is known about prescribing practices in home care or the extent to which IFCs carry out regimens.

Design And Methods: Data on hospice prescribed lorazepam was determined through a retrospective review of medication records from 216 deceased patients. The dose of lorazepam and type of regimen (i.

Providing End-of-Life Care: Increased Empathy and Self-efficacy Among Student Caregivers in Residential Homes for the Dying.

Background: Health-care providers report a lack of training in end-of-life care and limited opportunities exist to learn about the dying process in home settings where most prefer to die.

Aim: To evaluate the effectiveness of a Community Action, Research, and Education (CARE) program designed to promote empathy and self-efficacy communicating with and caring for terminally ill patients.

Methods: This mixed-methods study collected pre-post data from 18 undergraduates (7 men≤ 11 women) in a 8-week immersive program where they served as primary caregivers in residential homes for the dying providing 200 hours of bedside care to hospice patients during their final days.

First-Year Analysis of a New, Home-Based Palliative Care Program Offered Jointly by a Community Hospital and Local Visiting Nurse Service.

Background: There is a growing need for home-based palliative care services, especially for seriously ill individuals who want to avoid hospitalizations and remain with their regular outside care providers.

Aim: To evaluate the effectiveness of Care Choices, a new in-home palliative care program provided by the Visiting Nurse Services of Northeastern New York and Ellis Medicine's community hospital serving New York's Capital District.

Methods: This prospective cohort study assessed patient outcomes over the course of 1 year for 123 patients (49 men and 74 women) with serious illnesses who were new enrollees in the program.

The influence of experimenter gender and race on pain reporting: does racial or gender concordance matter?

Background: Research on disparities in the treatment of pain has shown that minorities receive less aggressive pain management than non-minorities. While reasons include physician bias, the focus of this study was to examine whether differences in pain reporting behavior might occur when pain is reported to individuals of a different race or gender.

Objective: To test whether gender and racial concordance might influence pain reporting and pain behavior in a laboratory setting.

The influence of gender and race on physicians' pain management decisions.

This study set out to examine whether gender or race influences physicians' pain management decisions in a national sample of 712 (414 men, 272 women) practicing physicians. Medical vignettes were used to vary patient gender and race experimentally while holding symptom presentation constant. Treatment decisions were assessed by calculating maximum permitted doses of narcotic analgesic (hydrocodone) prescribed for initial pain treatment and for follow-up care.