"Not Having Family, not Having Insurance, not Having Money, Experiencing lots of Pain": Fears About Cancer Among Older Latino Men.

Cancer among older adults is pervasive, placing excessive strain on the individual, caregivers, and wider society. Focusing on cancer among older immigrant Latino men is critical to identifying knowledge gaps, diagnosis and treatment while providing insights to improving cancer care to this growing population. As such, this article presents the multifactorial experience of fears and beliefs about cancer and cancer prevention of 57 older immigrant Latino men based on qualitative responses.

Spanish Translation and Dissemination of EMPOWER Materials to Address Barriers to Pain Management at the End of Life.

Introduction: The Effective Management of Pain by Overcoming Worries to Enable Relief (EMPOWER) intervention is an evidence-supported approach for addressing barriers to pain management (e.g., patient/family concerns about addiction) at the end of life.

Cancer Prevention and Diagnosis Knowledge among Spanish-speaking Older Latino/as Residing in Tampa, Florida.

Objective: Cancer remains the leading cause of death among Latino/as in the United States, and advancing age is a major risk factor for developing most cancer types. Given the growing population of Latino/as immigrants aged ≥60 years and the current lack of relevant data, this study aims to understand the cancer prevention and perception of cancer diagnosis among older Latinos to ensure that they receive effective prevention, intervention, and psychosocial care.

Method: A survey exploring attitudes about cancer was developed and administered in Spanish.

"They don't know who they have in here": Sense of community in budget hotels.

The purpose of this study was to understand older residents descriptions of socio-spatial guest interactions and sense of community in budget hotels. Due to financial vulnerability, some people move into budget hotels when other housing options are unavailable. Little is known about how older residents perceive other hotel guests who frequent the commercial establishment and how a mix of various consumer interactions can potentially influence health.

Measuring Attitudes About End-of-Life Care: Evaluation of a Modified Version of the Hospice Philosophy Scale.

The Hospice Philosophy Scale (HPS) is the only scaled instrument that measures health professionals' attitudes about end-of-life care consistent with the hospice philosophy. This study tested the properties of a modified version of the HPS to provide preliminary validation data on internal consistency, convergent validity, and factorability in a broad population of adults. A cross-sectional telephone survey designed to assess the general population's attitudes regarding hospice use was administered.

Exploring Motivational Interviewing to Engage Latinos in Advance Care Planning: A Community-Based Social Work Intervention.

Unlabelled: Advance care planning (ACP) does not readily occur in medical settings and often gets missed. Older Latinos need ACP information to encourage advance directive (AD) completion indicating preferences for end-of-life (EOL) care.

Objective: To explore the experiences with counseling using motivational interviewing (MI) techniques and social workers to encourage ACP communication among older Latinos with advance chronic diseases.

"People Give Opinions, but the Decision Belongs to the Patient": Examining Cancer Treatment Decisions Among Latinos/as in Central Florida.

Latinos/as, the fastest-growing ethnic group in the United States, experience high cancer rates. Factors contributing to treatment decisions among Latinos diagnosed with cancer must be studied. This paper aims to identify treatment decisions among Latinos with cancer and examine factors influencing these decisions.

Implementing an Advance Care Planning Intervention in Community Settings with Older Latinos: A Feasibility Study.

Background: Older Latinos with serious medical conditions such as cancer and other chronic diseases lack information about advance care planning (ACP). ACP Intervention (ACP-I Plan) was designed for informational and communication needs of older Latinos to improve communication and advance directives (ADs).

Objective: To determine the feasibility of implementing ACP-I Plan among seriously ill, older Latinos (≥50 years) in Southern New Mexico with one or more chronic diseases (e.

Quality of death among hospice decedents: Proxy observations from a survey of community-dwelling adults in the contiguous United States.

This study examines hospice service experience and quality of death. A survey of 123 community-dwelling adults in the United States found that physical comfort, pain-free, and spiritual peace were more important to respondents reporting a personal experience with hospice. A "good death" was associated with older patients who died at home, and respondent satisfaction with hospice service.

Exploring Health Care Providers' Views About Initiating End-of-Life Care Communication.

Numerous factors impede effective and timely end-of-life (EOL) care communication. These factors include delays in communication until patients are seriously ill and/or close to death. Gaps in patient-provider communication negatively affect advance care planning and limit referrals to palliative and hospice care.

"I Told Myself to Stay Positive" Perceptions of Coping Among Latinos With a Cancer Diagnosis Living in the United States.

Purpose: This study contributes to the sparse body of literature examining perceptions of coping among Latino men and women with a cancer diagnosis living in the United States. There are currently 50 million Latinos in the United States and, by 2050, projected to grow to 128 million. Although some research indicates that Latinos have unique sociocultural beliefs that influence their cancer care, very little is known about their perceptions of coping after being diagnosed with cancer.

Willingness to Use Pain Medication to Treat Pain.

Objective: Despite the growth of the economic impact of pain and pain management, there remains a lack of knowledge about disparities, especially, evidence regarding individual attitudes and beliefs about accepting pain treatments. This study provides preliminary information on the prevalence of public concerns about pain management and a better understanding of factors that may ultimately lead to improved pain management and treatment adherence.

Methods: Using a cross-sectional survey of community-dwelling adults 18+ in the US, 123 randomly selected respondents were telephone-interviewed in 2012.

Knowledge About Hospice: Exploring Misconceptions, Attitudes, and Preferences for Care.

Context: Poor knowledge and misperceptions about hospice are believed to be common, but there is scant evidence about the public's understanding of hospice.

Objectives: To examine hospice knowledge among geographically diverse adults; and describe linkages between knowledge, attitudes and beliefs about hospice care, and demographics.

Methods: A small cross-sectional telephone survey of adults living in the contiguous US was conducted using randomly selected numbers (cell phone and landline) and over-sampling of minorities.

Knowledge About Hospice Care and Beliefs About Pain Management: Exploring Differences Between Hispanics and Non-Hispanics.

Context: Among Hispanics, incomplete knowledge about hospice care may explain low rates of utilization and culturally-specific beliefs about pain and pain treatments may contribute to disparities in pain management.

Objectives: To compare (1) knowledge and attitudes regarding hospice, (2) and beliefs about pain and pain medication between Hispanics and non-Hispanics.

Methods: A cross-sectional phone-based survey of adults living in the contiguous United States was conducted using randomly selected phone numbers with over-sampling for diversity.

Assessing Challenges in End-of-Life Conversations With Patients Utilizing a Public Safety-Net Health Care System.

Multiple factors influence end-of-life (EOL) care discussions that occur in health care systems, within organizations, among individuals working within these systems and in patients and family/friend support networks. This study examined barriers to EOL care discussions as experienced by health care providers working in a public safety-net health care system where the majority of their patients were low-income and immigrant Latinos seeking medical treatment. Qualitative data were collected in South Central Los Angeles through semistructured interviews with 46 health care providers from different disciplines in medicine, nursing, social work, and chaplaincy.

Certified nursing assistants' perspectives of nursing home residents' pain experience: communication patterns, cultural context, and the role of empathy.

This study explored the following issues related to pain management among nursing home (NH) residents: 1) communication patterns between NH residents and certified nursing assistants (CNAs) about pain; 2) how race and ethnicity influence NH residents' pain experiences; and 3) CNAs' personal experiences with pain that may affect their empathy toward the resident's pain experience. The study consisted of a convenience sample of four focus groups (n = 28) from a NH in central Florida. A content analysis approach was used.

Psychosocial concerns among Latinas with life-limiting advanced cancers.

Research has demonstrated that limited dialogue in end-of-life (EOL) care can negatively impact decision-making and place of death. Furthermore, when vulnerable populations are faced with EOL cancer care, they experience issues resulting from previous gaps in services attributed to sociocultural and economic issues that influence EOL care. These conditions place an additional burden on disadvantaged populations which can cause distress, especially as disparate conditions continue to persist.

Examining cultural factors that influence treatment decisions: a pilot study of Latino men with cancer.

The objective of this study was to explore beliefs and treatment decisions of foreign-born Latino men from Cuba, Mexico, Colombia, and Venezuela, who have been diagnosed with cancer and who live in Central Florida, USA. Experiences related to knowledge of diagnosis, treatment decisions, communication with health providers, family involvement, and advance care planning (ACP) discussions following the diagnosis of cancer are central to this study. This study used qualitative in-depth semi-structured interviews and thematic analysis.

Advocacy at the end of life: meeting the needs of vulnerable Latino patients.

This research explores health care professionals' understanding of the problems that arise in managing a terminal condition impacting the Latino population and conceptualizes the components of patient advocacy that address gaps in end-of-life care for patients and their family members. Limited research exists regarding patient advocacy from the perspectives of health care providers working with vulnerable Latino populations utilizing a public sector health care system. Forty-six semi-structured interviews were conducted with providers from different disciplines including medicine, nursing, social work, and chaplaincy.

Advance care planning among Colombian, Mexican, and Puerto Rican women with a cancer diagnosis.

Purpose: Limited knowledge exists pertaining to advance care planning (ACP) among Colombian, Mexican, and Puerto Rican women with a cancer diagnosis living in Central Florida, in the USA. The purpose of the study is to identify factors that facilitated the completion of ACP and decisions making patterns among the three groups of Latinas.

Methods: The research method used was an exploratory qualitative in-depth open-ended semi-structured interview with a grounded theoretical approach and thematic analysis.

Caregiving for older Latinos at end of life: perspectives from paid and family (unpaid) caregivers.

This study examined the various settings in which caregiving occurred for terminally ill older Latinos. Qualitative data were collected in Central Florida through in-depth, semi-structured, open-ended interviews. 20 Latinos caring for terminally ill Latinos participated in the study.

Physical activity and psychosocial and mental health of older caregivers and non-caregivers.

Few studies have been conducted on physical activity (PA) in older caregivers, a population at risk for mental and physical decline. To assess and compare PA, PA preferences, psychosocial determinants of PA, and mental health indicators between older non-exercising caregivers and non-caregivers. Caregivers (N = 24) and non-caregivers (N = 48) completed questionnaires and wore an accelerometer for 7 consecutive days.

Navigating the advanced cancer experience of underserved Latinas.

Objective: Previous cancer research does not adequately inform us about the experiences of managing a more serious, life-threatening cancer condition, especially for underserved Latinas. This study was designed to explore the ways in which Latinas navigate through and deal with advanced cancers.

Methods: A purposive sample of 24 underserved Latina women was selected from a randomized controlled trial.

The role of race and ethnicity in predicting length of hospice care among older adults.

Background: The purpose of the study was to examine both direct and interactive roles of race/ethnicity with patients' characteristics (age, gender, relationship with caregiver, diagnosis, referral source, and payment type) in predicting length of hospice care.

Method: This study included a total of 16,323 patients 65 years of age and older (M(age)=81.4, SD=8.

A Case Study of Hispanics and Hospice Care.

The issues of death and dying that have given impetus to the hospice movement include the effect on people with terminal illnesses and their families, impending death, renewed attention to long-term care centers and other alternatives to hospitalization, the scarcity of resources, the emphasis on holistic health, and recognition of the rights of people who are dying to die with dignity. Hospice offers patients compassionate care that is focused the pain relief and symptom management so that they can die a good death. In the US, hospice is considered the gold standard of care for terminally ill patients.