Millions of Americans who have serious illnesses do not have access to palliative care, according to a study. This is care that could relieve pain and symptoms and improve their quality of life. This lack of access is worse in southern states, the study found.
Palliative care is a multidisciplinary approach to treatment for those who are seriously ill. It focuses on relief of pain, physical and mental stress, and the symptoms of the disease and can be done in situations where no cure is expected or in conjunction with other treatments for the underlying disease.
Access to palliative care is greatest in the New England, the Mid-Atlantic states, and the Pacific states, according to the study. In New England, 88% of hospitals had palliative care programs, as did 77% of hospitals in the Pacific and Mid-Atlantic states. In the south-central regions, slightly more than 40% of hospitals had programs.
People who live near larger hospitals are also more likely to have access to palliative care, since it is offered in 90% of larger hospitals but only 56% of hospitals with fewer than 300 beds.
The study was conducted at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York by Dr. Sean Morrison, a researcher in geriatrics and palliative medicine, and his colleagues. They looked at data from a variety of sources including the U.S. census and the American Hospital Association and interviewed hospital administrators and program directors.
They found that the tax status of hospitals was also a significant predictor of access to palliative care. Not-for-profit and public hospitals were 4.8 times and 7.1 times, respectively, more likely to have offer palliative care than for-profit hospitals.
Variation in access to palliative care in different parts of the country is not surprising. It mirrors variations in access to other parts of medicine and healthcare. However, the findings of this study findings could help identify gaps in care that could be improved, said Morrison.
The study was published in the Journal of Palliative Medicine.
