Full Code to Do-Not-Resuscitate: Culturally Adapted Palliative Care Consultations and Code Status Change Among...

Palliative care and hospice services are disproportionately underutilized by ethnic minority patients. Addressing barriers to utilization of these services is critical to reducing disparities. The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of a culturally adapted palliative care consultation service for Hispanics on end-of-life decisions, specifically likelihood of changing from full code to do-not-resuscitate (DNR) status during index admission for serious illness.

A cross-sectional study design was applied to data extracted from electronic health records (EHR) of patients seen by a Geriatric Palliative Care service during inpatient stays between 2018 and 2019. The majority of referrals came from critical care sites. Culturally adapted palliative care consultations using the SPIKES tool featured a Spanish-speaking team member leading discussions, involvement of multiple and key family members, and a chaplain who is a Catholic Priest.

The analytic sample included 351 patients who were, on average, 72 years old. 54.42% were female, 59.54% were Hispanic, and of Hispanic patients, 47.37% spoke primarily Spanish. Culturally adapted consults resulted in higher rates of conversion to DNR status in palliative cases of the target population. Both primary language and ethnicity were associated with likelihood of change from full code to DNR status, such that Spanish speakers and those of Hispanic ethnicity were more likely to switch to DNR than non-Hispanics and English-Speakers.

This study illustrates how culturally adapted palliative care consultations can help reduce barriers and improve end-of-life decision-making, and can be applied with similar populations of seriously ill Hispanic patients.