New Study Shows People Prefer to Live Final Days at Home

Hopes, Misconceptions about Hospice Care Indicate Greater Need for End-of-Life Education

WASHINGTON, Nov. 18 /PRNewswire/ -- The ability to be at home and to be cared for by family during one's final days -- coupled with in-home support by health care professionals -- ranked first in a survey released today that asked adults across the United States about their knowledge, beliefs and wishes concerning end-of-life care and hospice.

Commissioned by VITAS Innovative Hospice Care(R), the nation's leading provider of hospice care, the survey results indicated that 83 percent of the respondents would prefer to be cared for at home by family members, along with in-home health professionals, if faced with a terminal illness.  Fourteen percent of respondents would prefer to receive care at a hospital or medical facility.  In addition, 49 percent of respondents said they had a family member who had used hospice services; of those, 98 percent said the hospice experience was a positive one.

The findings were presented for the first time today to the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization in Alexandria, VA, by Sergio Bendixen, president of Bendixen & Associates, on behalf of VITAS Innovative Hospice Care(R).

Surveyors asked respondents if they knew what hospice care entailed. Eighty percent of respondents indicated they did.  Then, after surveyors explained the concept of hospice care, 88 percent of respondents indicated they would consider using hospice care if they or someone they knew had a terminal illness.

Surveyors then explained that hospice care can be provided to patients who qualify at little or no cost to their families, and respondents were then asked again if they would consider hospice services.

"These questions were of particular interest to us because we were able to cross-tabulate responses by ethnicity, gender and geographic location," said Mark Cohen, vice president of communications and public relations at VITAS. "We found that the African-American community indicated they knew the least about hospice initially, and when informed about hospice by the surveyor, they were also least likely to want to use hospice services if given the opportunity.  This indicates to us that we still have a lot of work to do to educate and inform racial and ethnic groups about hospice."  Cohen added that a disproportionate number of American minorities are not receiving appropriate end-of-life care.  "Less than 10 percent of hospice services nationwide are provided to African-American patients.  We need to do more to reach out to them," he said.

Cohen indicated VITAS is moving in the right direction, however, with its Rainbow PUSH and One Thousand Churches Connected initiatives, launched with the Rev. Jesse L. Jackson, Sr., in 2003 to improve the access to and quality of end-of-life care for African Americans.  Each year, Rainbow/PUSH holds events around the country to educate the African-American community about financial and health-related matters.  Hospice care is now a primary topic on that program.

Additional survey highlights include:
 

• Twenty-seven percent of respondents indicated dying with family members around was most important when considering what is part of a "good death" experience;

  • 22 percent said dying with dignity;

  • 17 percent said dying pain free;

  • 14 percent said dying with spiritual counseling.

• Respondents preferred long-term hospice care.

• Three-quarters say it should be available to the terminally ill for the last six months to one year of life.

• Nine out of 10 people who have discussed death and dying have done so with a family member.

• The majority of those surveyed -- 73 percent -- believe in life after death. 

• Forty-one percent go to religious services every week.
   

The survey also addressed quality-of-life issues, comfort levels in addressing death and dying, and opinions regarding society's investment in caring for infants and children or care for the elderly.

Methodology: 

Bendixen & Associates, a national survey research firm, administered the national telephone survey as commissioned by VITAS Innovative Hospice Care(R). This survey was conducted with the purpose of uncovering beliefs about and knowledge of hospice care.  The race, income and gender breakdowns of survey participants reflect the population of the United States.  Three hundred sixty-one interviews were conducted in English; 39 were conducted in Spanish. Industry studies by design involve small samples of participants for exploratory research purposes.  This telephone survey was conducted with 400 people with a margin of error of +/- five percentage points.

About Hospice 

Because hospice is not a "place" as many believe, VITAS caregivers make visits throughout the community to care for patients in their own home. Hospice is provided in the home to better provide comfort, pain control and symptom management for a patient at the end of life.  In fact, recent research published by the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization found that most Americans would prefer to receive end-of-life care at home and think hospice professionals are the most knowledgeable in helping them do so.

About VITAS Innovative Hospice Care(R) 

VITAS Innovative Hospice Care(R), a pioneer and leader in the hospice movement since 1978, is the nation's largest provider of end-of-life care. Headquartered in Miami, Florida, VITAS (pronounced VEE-tahs) operates 32 hospice programs in 11 states (Florida, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Illinois, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas and Wisconsin). VITAS employs 6,887 professionals who care for terminally ill patients daily, primarily in the patients' homes, but also in the company's 21 hospice inpatient units as well as in hospitals, nursing homes and assisted living facilities/residential care facilities for the elderly.  At the conclusion of the second quarter of 2004, VITAS reported an average daily census of 8,949.

SOURCE  VITAS Innovative Hospice Care 

CO:  VITAS Healthcare Corp.; VITAS Innovative Hospice Care; Bendixen & Associates; National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization

ST:  District of Columbia, Florida, Virginia

SU:  SVY TDS

http://www.prnewswire.com

11/18/2004 11:00 EST