Hospice improves quality of care in patients with dementia

Medically Reviewed By : Dr. Kamal Kant Kohli

Published On 2022-06-10 04:30 GMT | Update On 2022-06-10 06:35 GMT

A new study shows that hospice patients with dementia are more likely to receive excellent care and have their anxiety and sadness managed than those not on hospice. However, eligibility criteria means that some patients with dementia face hurdles gaining access to hospice or may risk disenrollment.

In the study, researchers tracked a sample of 2,059 seniors over 70years , who had died between 2011 and 2017. Some 40% of these seniors had dementia, of whom 59% used hospice, which included regular visits by nursing staff, social workers and chaplains provided at the patient's home, assisted living facility, nursing home, or dedicated area within a hospital. Of the 60% of seniors without dementia, 43% used hospice.

Researchers compared quality of care in the last month of life between patients with dementia on hospice and patients with dementia not on hospice.

Some 52% of hospice enrollees' caregivers said the standard of care was excellent, versus 41% of the non-hospice enrollees. Additionally, 67% of hospice enrollees' proxies said their sadness and anxiety was managed, compared to 46% of proxies of non-hospice enrollees. Results also showed the hospice enrollees were less likely to be switched to a different care setting than non-hospice enrollees in the days before their deaths.

The findings suggested that hospice significantly benefits enrollees with dementia and that it underscores the need to ensure access to high-quality end-of-life care for this growing population.

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Dr. Nandita Mohan

Dr. Nandita Mohan is a practicing pediatric dentist with more than 5 years of clinical work experience. Along with this, she is equally interested in keeping herself up to date about the latest developments in the field of medicine and dentistry which is the driving force for her to be in association with Medical Dialogues. She also has her name attached with many publications; both national and international. She has pursued her BDS from Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences, Bangalore and later went to enter her dream specialty (MDS) in the Department of Pedodontics and Preventive Dentistry from Pt. B.D. Sharma University of Health Sciences. Through all the years of experience, her core interest in learning something new has never stopped. She can be contacted at editorial@medicaldialogues.in. Contact no. 011-43720751

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Hospice improves quality of care in patients with dementia

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