Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38777614›Full record

ArticleJournal of the American Geriatrics Society2024

Nephrologists' perspectives and experiences with hospice among older adults with end-stage kidney disease.

Melissa W Wachterman, Anupallavi Sinha, Tarikwa Leveille, Sushrut S Waikar, Eric Widera, Kai Romero, Barbara Bokhour

Abstract 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.

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0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

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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

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3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Melissa W WachtermanSection of General Internal Medicine, Veterans Affairs Boston Health Care System, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
Anupallavi SinhaHarvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
Tarikwa LeveilleHarvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
Sushrut S WaikarSection of Nephrology, Boston Medical Center and Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
Eric WideraDivision of Geriatrics, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA.
Kai RomeroDivision of Palliative Care, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA.
Barbara BokhourDepartment of Population and Quantitative Health Sciences, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA.

Funding

Deciding about Dialysis: Improving Decision-Making Among Older Adults with ESRDK23AG049088 · NIA · HARVARD MEDICAL SCHOOL · PI WACHTERMAN, MELISSA · 2015 to 2022
$919k
NIA NIH HHS K23 AG049088NIA NIH HHS K23AG049088U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundHospice care leads to improved patient and family outcomes. Hospice use among older adults with end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) is markedly lower than among older adults with other serious illnesses, and the majority of those with ESKD who use hospice enroll in the last days of life. Here, our aim was to explore barriers to timely receipt of high-quality hospice care for older adults with ESKD.

methodsUtilizing a qualitative study design, we conducted a secondary analysis focused on hospice, a theme that we identified in our larger overarching study that involved semi-structured interviews with 20 nephrologists in the United States focused on treatment decision-making in older adults with advanced chronic kidney disease. We analyzed the interview transcripts using emergent thematic analysis to develop an understanding of barriers to high-quality hospice.

resultsWith a couple notable exceptions, nephrologists voiced general support for the concept of hospice, but few recalled patients of theirs who had received hospice. Nephrologists' interviews revealed two interrelated contributors to the lack of timely access to high-quality hospice care for seriously ill older adults with ESKD: (1) nephrologists view dialysis and hospice as mutually exclusive models of care; (2) nephrologists feel unsure who should manage hospice care for patients with ESKD. The first contributor was rooted in nephrologists' narrow vision of when to consider hospice (informed, in part, by policy barriers) and, in a couple of cases, strong discomfort with hospice. The second stemmed from nephrologists' belief that neither they nor hospice are adequately prepared to provide hospice care for ESKD.

conclusionsOur findings suggest that, in addition to Medicare policy change, nephrologists need to receive more training in primary palliative care skills including in indications for hospice, initiating conversations about hospice with patients, and collaborating with hospice clinicians to care for these vulnerable patients.

Indexed as

Hospice CareKidney Failure, ChronicNephrologistsQualitative ResearchAgedAttitude of Health PersonnelFemaleHumansInterviews as TopicMaleMiddle AgedUnited Statesclinician perspectivesend‐stage kidney diseasehospice

Identifiers

PMID38777614
PMCPMC11226377

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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.