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Characterizing hospice services in the United States
Maureen A Smith1, Christopher Seplaki, Mark Biagtan
1Department of Population Health Sciences, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, 505 WARF Building, 610 Walnut Street, Madison, WI 53726, USA. maureensmith@wisc.edu
The Gerontologist
|April 3, 2008
Summary
Most US hospice agencies lack a balanced service mix. While few offer all four key caregiver services, most agencies only lack one, aiding provider descriptions of hospice care.
Area of Science:
- Gerontology
- Healthcare Services Research
- Public Health
Background:
- Caregivers require detailed information on hospice programs, yet descriptive data is limited.
- Understanding the service offerings of hospice agencies is crucial for informed decision-making.
Purpose of the Study:
- To characterize U.S. agencies providing formal or informal hospice care.
- To assess service mixes based on caregiver-important factors: medications/treatments, rehabilitation, psychosocial support, and practical support.
Main Methods:
- Utilized data from the 2000 National Home and Hospice Care Survey.
- Employed a grade-of-membership model to categorize 11,419 agencies into service mixes.
Main Results:
- Slightly over half (52%) of agencies offered services across all four categories.
- Significant proportions lacked specific services: 26% lacked emotional/social/spiritual support, 10% lacked multiple services.
- Agencies lacking multiple services were less likely to be formally certified as hospice or home health agencies.
Conclusions:
- Few U.S. hospice agencies provide a comprehensive, balanced mix of all four key service types.
- Most agencies are missing only one service type, suggesting potential for targeted improvement.
- Service-based categorization can help providers better describe hospice care offerings to caregivers.
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