Racial Disparities in Palliative Care Service Accessibility in Intracerebral Hemorrhage Patients (P5-6.001)

Area of Science:

• Health Services Research
• Palliative Care Medicine
• Health Disparities

Background:

• Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) is a leading cause of stroke mortality with significant long-term challenges for survivors.
• Palliative care services (PCS) improve quality of life for critically ill patients and their families.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze trends in palliative care services (PCS) access and utilization among racial minorities with intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH).
• To identify disparities in PCS utilization based on race in the United States.

Main Methods:

• Utilized pooled data from the 2016-2019 National Inpatient Sample (NIS) including over 84,000 adult ICH patients.
• Employed International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10) codes for data extraction and statistical tests (t-tests, chi-square) for group comparisons.
• Excluded patients with hospital stays under 24 hours to focus on those with potential for PCS counseling.

Main Results:

• Only 20% of ICH patients received PCS; 23% of Caucasian patients received PCS compared to 12% of African American, 15% of Hispanic, and 19% of Asian/Pacific Islander patients.
• Patients receiving PCS were significantly older and more likely to be female.
• Caucasian ICH patients were significantly more likely to receive palliative care services (p<0.001).

Conclusions:

• Racial minority ICH patients experienced disproportionately lower access to palliative care services.
• Findings underscore the necessity for enhanced provider/patient education and culturally adapted PCS to improve equitable access.
• Addressing these disparities is crucial for improving end-of-life care for all ICH survivors.