Distressing Symptoms, Disability, and Hospice Services at the End of Life: Prospective Cohort Study.

ABSTRACT:

Objectives

To evaluate the relationship between the presence and number of restricting symptoms and number of disabilities and subsequent admission to hospice at the end of life.

Design

Prospective cohort study.

Setting

Greater New Haven, Connecticut, from March 1998 to December 2014.

Participants

Decedents from a cohort of 754 persons aged 70 and older (N = 562).

Measurements

Hospice admissions were identified primarily from Medicare claims, and 15 restricting symptoms and disability in 13 activities were assessed during monthly interviews.

Results

During their last year of life, 244 (43.4%) participants were admitted to hospice. The median duration of hospice was 12.5 days (interquartile range 4-43 days). Although the largest increases were obse

SUBMITTER: Gill TM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5777867 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature