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Bayhealth Medical Center Nursing Journal Club
 

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Critical Care: Racial and Ethic Differences in End-ofLife Care in Fee-forService Medicare Beneficiaries with Cancer
9/28/2011 9:30:11 AM

October Critical Care:  Racial and Ethic Differences in End-ofLife Care in Fee-forService Medicare Beneficiaries with Advanced Cancer

Discussion Topics:
1. How does this article relate to/or change your practice?
2. What ideas do you have for further research related to this article?"

Posted By mchmbrs13, Tuesday, April 10, 2012 9:31:51 AM
This relates to my everyday practice in a critical care area, and it is not unusual to have a patient or family researching hospice. It is interesting to see that Black and Asian cancer patients have worse outcomes (death in hospital, longer stays, hospice enrollment) than Whites. I had never really considered that some races or ethnicities are more likely to stay in the hospital longer or have more severemanifestations than others.
Posted By Msacrenty, Tuesday, April 10, 2012 9:32:17 AM
This directly relates to my everyday practice in the critical care setting as we experience many different cultures & values. I wasn''t suprised to read that Asians are less likely to use hospice as I have learned before that they "take care of their own" when it comes to end of life. I honestly, had never really thought about how each culture was, besides a basic understanding, when it came to end of life. Especially with hospice care, hospital stays, and wait times for different races.

I believe promoting the differences more would help people understand and see these differences more clear rather then just looking at the "bottom line." The benefit would be an increase in patient care & staff understanding.
Posted By khrb2010, Tuesday, April 10, 2012 9:32:38 AM
It is very interesting to see the outcomes of the patients based on race or ethnicity. At the same time I wonder if this is related to lifestyle and/or SES. I beleive that some cultures may have a knowledge deficit or distrust of the health care system and choose to let the cancere "run it''s course", even if that means death.
This article can relate to my practice, I would want to focus on educating my patients about their choices and supporting them and their family.
Posted By elisabethmuse, Tuesday, April 10, 2012 9:33:11 AM
I thought the article was interesting and the information was valuable in assisting patients with end of life choices. This research should help nurses to be mindful when introducing the concept of hospice and how potential patient populations may react to the idea.
Posted By christina, Tuesday, April 10, 2012 9:33:35 AM
I found this article to be very imformative about the disparities amoungst different racial groups and ethnicities. This impacts everyday practice in critical care nursing being as we have such a deverse population. This article will help me provide more culturally competent care in the critical care setting.
Posted By edicuir, Tuesday, April 10, 2012 9:33:50 AM
This article was very eye opening when it come to both race & ethnicity in the realm of hospice care. These findings will help remind me of the differences betwenn the races and their medical needs. I believe further research should be done in all facets of health care to be able to learn additional information to best help our patients.
Posted By eheish, Tuesday, April 10, 2012 9:34:09 AM
The outcome from this research points out the importance of continuity of care.

Future research might include compiling data on community resources utilized by patients after hospital discharge in comparison with readmission data. This may produce a better picture of whether the results were due to health disparities or other factors.
Posted By llaudeman, Tuesday, April 10, 2012 9:34:31 AM
Wow Ludi...this is just what the nurse ordered for Journal Club....this article relates to what I see often in the Med/Surg units, those patients who are black seem to have great difficulty with the Hospice concept! Why? Perhaps future research at Bayhealth may seek to anwer that question and or enable us a healthcare providers to be more culturally sensitive.
Posted By pchak78, Tuesday, April 10, 2012 9:34:49 AM
I found the data to be very interesting. The significance of the data made me ponder this question...Are the black and Asian patients CHOOSING to not enroll in hospice? Also, due to health disparities, are the patients finding out about their condition while enroute to the hospital? Perhaps they are unaware of the advanced stage of their cancer and are willing to fight to stay alive and therefore remain to recieve hospital treatment.
 

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