Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37947240›Full record

ArticleJournal of the American Geriatrics Society2024

A comparison of end-of-life care quality for Veterans receiving hospice in VA nursing homes and community nursing homes.

Melissa W Wachterman, Dawn Smith, Joan G Carpenter, Hillary L Griffin, Joshua Thorpe, Shelli L Feder, Jillian Hoelter, Mary Ersek, Scott Shreve, Ann Kutney-Lee

Open access · greenAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
0.6field-weighted citation impact, top 29% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed, 2 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors at 6 institutions in 1 country.

Melissa W WachtermanSection of General Internal Medicine, Veterans Affairs Boston Health Care System, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
Dawn SmithVeteran Experience Center, Corporal Michael J. Crescenz VA Medical Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
Joan G CarpenterVeteran Experience Center, Corporal Michael J. Crescenz VA Medical Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
Hillary L GriffinVeteran Experience Center, Corporal Michael J. Crescenz VA Medical Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
Joshua ThorpeCenter for Health Equity Research and Promotion, Pittsburgh VA Medical Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.
Shelli L FederYale University School of Nursing, Orange, Connecticut, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-8059-9281
Jillian HoelterUniversity of Maryland School of Nursing, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-1197-931X
Mary ErsekVeteran Experience Center, Corporal Michael J. Crescenz VA Medical Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-0520-311X
Scott ShreveUS Department of Veteran Affairs, Hospice and Palliative Care Program, Washington, DC, USA.
Ann Kutney-LeeVeteran Experience Center, Corporal Michael J. Crescenz VA Medical Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
Philadelphia VA Medical Center · USUniversity of Maryland, Baltimore · USBrigham and Women's Hospital · USLebanon VA Medical Center · USUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel Hill · USYale University · US

Funding

Yale Scholars in Implementation Science (YSIS)K12HL138037 · NHLBI · YALE UNIVERSITY · PI SHARIFI, MAHNOOSH · 2017 to 2021
$3.0M
Deciding about Dialysis: Improving Decision-Making Among Older Adults with ESRDK23AG049088 · NIA · HARVARD MEDICAL SCHOOL · PI WACHTERMAN, MELISSA · 2015 to 2022
$919k
NHLBI NIH HHS K12 HL138037NIA NIH HHS K23 AG049088NIA NIH HHS K23AG049088-05
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundWhile the Veterans Health Administration (VA) has long provided hospice care within VA community living centers (CLCs, i.e., VA nursing homes), an increasing number of Veterans are receiving hospice in VA-contracted community nursing homes (CNHs). However, little data exist about the quality of end-of-life (EOL) care provided in CNHs. The aim of this study was to compare family ratings of the quality of EOL care provided to Veterans receiving hospice in VA CLCs and VA-contracted CNHs.

methodsWe conducted a retrospective analysis of national data from VA's electronic medical record and Bereaved Family Survey (BFS) for Veterans who received hospice in VA CLCs or VA-contracted CNHs between October 2021 and March 2022. The final sample included 1238 Veterans who died in either a CLC (n = 1012) or a CNH (n = 226) and whose next-of-kin completed the BFS. Our primary outcome was the BFS global rating of care received in the last 30 days of life. Secondary outcomes included BFS items related to symptom management, communication, emotional and spiritual support, and information about burial and survivor benefits. We compared unadjusted and adjusted proportions for all BFS outcomes between those who received hospice in CLCs and CNHs.

resultsThe adjusted proportion of family members who gave the best possible rating (a score of 9 or 10 out of a possible 10) for the overall care received near EOL was more than 13 percentage points higher for Veterans who received hospice in VA CLCs compared to VA-contracted CNHs. Our findings also revealed quality gaps of even greater magnitude in specific EOL care-focused domains.

conclusionsOur findings document inadequacies in the quality of multiple aspects of EOL care provided to Veterans in CNH-based hospice and illuminate the urgent need for policy and practice interventions to improve this care.

Indexed as

Hospice CareHospicesTerminal CareVeteransHumansNursing HomesRetrospective StudiesSurveys and QuestionnairesUnited StatesUnited States Department of Veterans Affairsend-of-lifehospicenursing homequalityVeterans

Identifiers

PMID37947240
PMCPMC10842969
OpenAlexW4388568417

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceTDM
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.