Identifying Paths Forward: Expanding Palliative Care to Low-Income Patients in California.

Multiple studies demonstrate most consumers do not know about palliative care. And, since January 2018, California's Medi-Cal Managed Care patients have been eligible for palliative care services under Senate Bill 1004 (SB 1004). Yet, the uptake of palliative care services was underwhelming.

Factors Associated With Advance Care Planning by Race.

Objective: This study aims to quantify and interpret Black-White differences in the factors associated with advance care planning (ACP), with specific attention to self-reported presence of chronic conditions and healthcare stereotype threat (HCST) in medical settings.

Method: Black and White individuals aged 50 and older (N = 499) were recruited from community centers and assisted living facilities in southern California and on Amazon Mechanical Turk. Six sequential logistic regressions assessed the effect of age, presence of chronic conditions, income, and HCST on predicting 3 components of ACP by race.

Health Care Provider Barriers to Patient Referral to Palliative Care.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to explore healthcare provider-perceived challenges to HBPC patient referral and elicited providers' feedback for overcoming these challenges.

Methods: We conducted a qualitative study using semi-structured interview with 25 Medicaid managed care providers (primary care physicians, nurse practitioners, and care managers) working in the greater Los Angeles area. Our interview protocol elicited providers' knowledge and awareness of palliative care; perceived barriers to HBPC referral; and suggestions for overcoming these barriers.

Understanding Asian Indian Americans' Knowledge and Attitudes Toward Hospice Care.

Background: Previous research has found racial differences in hospice knowledge and misconceptions about hospice care, which may hinder access to hospice care. Asian Indians are a rapidly growing population in the United States, yet limited research has focused on their beliefs toward end-of-life care. This project investigates Indian Americans' knowledge of and attitudes toward hospice care and advance care planning.

Theory-driven role model stories improve palliative care knowledge among a diverse older population.

Objective: To test the effectiveness of theoretically driven role model video stories in improving knowledge of palliative care among a diverse sample of older adults.

Method: We developed three 3-4 min long theoretically driven role model video stories. We then recruited cognitively intact, English-speaking adults aged 50 and older from senior centers, assisted living, and other community-based sites in the greater Los Angeles area.

So Help Me, God: Religiosity and End-of-Life Choices in a Nationally Representative Sample.

Studies show significant associations between the various dimensions of religiousness and end-of-life (EOL) decisions, such as individuals with high religiosity are more likely to choose aggressive care at EOL. However, these studies focused largely on smaller cancer populations. To our knowledge, there is no existing literature about the association between religiosity and EOL decisions within a national sample of older adults.