Biomedical subjects

Merydawilda Colón

Publications and source records attributed to Merydawilda Colón.

2 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMedDate not supplied

Comparison of hospice use and demographics among European Americans, African Americans, and Latinos.

The goals of this study were to compare the rate of use of hospice services and other relevant characteristics of European American, African American, and Latino hospice patients. Information on length of stay in hospice, marital status, age, disposition at termination, living situation, caregiver, referral source, and payment method was collected on patients who used hospice care in southern New Jersey between the years 1995 and 2001 (N = 1958). African Americans and Latinos were both found to use services at significantly lower rates than European Americans. In addition, African American use of hospice declined significantly during this time period, while European American use increased. Differences were also found among the groups in marital status, living situation, caregiver, referral source, and payment method. These differences highlight the need for hospice providers to recognize issues unique to minority groups. The reasons for these disparities need to be clarified by further research.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Practical recommendations for ethnically and racially sensitive hospice services.

Hospice providers have long understood that hospice services are disproportionately utilized by Caucasians compared with racial and ethnic minorities. In fact, it is clear that this disparity is increasing with time despite the development of literature that recommends making services more culturally sensitive and accessible to minority groups. This suggests a need for more concrete and practical recommendations to make hospice services accessible and amenable to minority groups. For implementation in hospice service organizations, standard recommendations require enhancement to increase outreach, improve understanding of cultural issues related to death and dying, improve communication with non-English speaking populations, and implement cross-cultural training programs. In addition, the self-awareness and ethnic identity of hospice workers themselves are elements of culturally sensitive care that frequently are overlooked when discussing hospice organizations. This article outlines some specific objectives for meeting the goal of improving hospice services for ethnic and racial minorities.

Aged↗