Johnson Lee Ann, Blew Amy, Schreier Ann M
1 Department of Nursing Science, College of Nursing, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC, USA.
2 University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, UNC HealthCare, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
Am J Hosp Palliat Care. 2019 Jun;36(6):513-518. doi: 10.1177/1049909118823721. Epub 2019 Jan 16.
Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths globally. Individuals are diagnosed at an advanced stage with limited life expectancy.
To explore potential health disparities in hospice utilization and length of stay (LOS) in a diverse sample of patients with lung cancer.
Demographic and clinical information as well as data for hospice utilization and LOS was extracted from electronic health records. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, χ tests, and an analysis of variance test.
Data from 242 patients were analyzed. In the sample, 33% (n = 80) were Black and 51% (n = 124) lived in a rural county. At the time of data collection, 67% of the sample was deceased and 36% (n = 86) chose to enroll in hospice. No disparities were found for race, age, gender, or rural/urban dwellers in hospice enrollment. No disparities were found for race, gender, or rural/urban dwellers for hospice LOS. Age was associated with hospice LOS ( P = .004). Those who were older were more likely to have a longer LOS.
Hospice utilization and LOS were low for all groups with lung cancer in a geographically and racially diverse region of the United States. Given the rates of mortality in lung cancer, discussions about the goals and benefits of hospice care may be beneficial and should be part of an ongoing dialogue throughout the disease trajectory.
肺癌是全球癌症死亡的主要原因。患者确诊时已处于晚期，预期寿命有限。
在不同的肺癌患者样本中，探讨临终关怀利用情况和住院时间（LOS）方面潜在的健康差异。
从电子健康记录中提取人口统计学和临床信息以及临终关怀利用情况和住院时间的数据。使用描述性统计、χ检验和方差分析进行数据分析。
对242例患者的数据进行了分析。在样本中，33%（n = 80）为黑人，51%（n = 124）居住在农村县。在数据收集时，67%的样本已死亡，36%（n = 86）选择加入临终关怀。在临终关怀登记方面，未发现种族、年龄、性别或农村/城市居民之间存在差异。在临终关怀住院时间方面，未发现种族、性别或农村/城市居民之间存在差异。年龄与临终关怀住院时间相关（P = 0.004）。年龄较大者住院时间更有可能更长。
在美国一个地理和种族多样化的地区，所有肺癌患者群体的临终关怀利用情况和住院时间都较低。鉴于肺癌的死亡率，关于临终关怀的目标和益处的讨论可能是有益处的，并且应该成为整个疾病过程中持续对话的一部分。
