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Published on: January 8, 2020
The association of marital status and hospice use in the USA
Nuha A Lackan1, Glenn V Ostir, Yong-Fang Kuo
1Sealy Center on Aging, 301 University Boulevard, Galveston, TX 77555-0460, USA. nalackan@utmb.edu
Background:
Married individuals are more likely to use hospice than unmarried individuals. We examine this association and how it is influenced by gender.
Methods:
Medicare beneficiaries dying of cancer were studied.
Results:
Currently married (OR 1.36 95% C.I. 1.28-1.45) or ever married (OR 1.23 95% C.I. 1.16-1.31) subjects were more likely to use hospice than never married subjects. A significant interaction between marital status and gender (P < .001) was observed.
Conclusions:
Subjects likely to enroll in hospice are subjects likely to have greater supportive relationships.
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