Factors That Impact End-of-Life Decision Making in African Americans With Advanced Cancer

African Americans with cancer are less likely to use hospice services and more likely to die in the hospital than white patients with the same diagnosis. However, there is much that is not understood about the factors that lead African Americans to choose options for end-of-life care.

A qualitative, descriptive design was used in this pilot study.

Interviews were conducted with two groups of African Americans with advanced-stage cancer (people enrolled in hospice and those who were not under hospice care).

End-of-life decisions were primarily guided by clinical factors, the patient-related physical, emotional, and cognitive symptoms that are sequelae of the underlying disease or medical treatments. The physician was the healthcare provider most likely to be involved in decision making with patients, family members, and caregivers. Individual factors, such as personal beliefs, influenced end-of-life decision making. Religion and spirituality were a topic in many interviews, but they did not consistently influence decision making.

Future studies should include interviews with family members, caregivers, and healthcare professionals so that factors that impact end-of-life decision making can be fully described. Strategies to facilitate recruitment will need to be added to future protocols.