Urban Health Today Editors

Urban Health Today

A new <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34255377/">study</a> of palliative care in pediatric oncology has found that non-White children were more likely to die in the hospital than White patients, but that the difference was in concordance with the patients&rsquo; stated end-of-life goals.The retrospective study explored patterns of pediatric palliative care (PPC) and health care utilization in 115 pediatric oncology patients (44 non-White patients). The primary outcomes were end-of-life patterns including timing of PPC consult, medical interventions in the last seven days of life, location of death, and resuscitation status at death.&ldquo;We identified no differences between White and non-White patients with regard to PPC patterns of care including frequency of PPC encounters or content of initial PPC consultation,&rdquo; study authors noted.There was a median of 12 PPC encounters before death, with the initial consult occurring a median of 3 months before death. These initial PPC consults were almost twice as likely to occur in an outpatient setting for White patients compared with non-White patients (49% vs. 25%).Health care utilization during the last six months of life was similar regardless of race/ethnicity. However, location of death differed significantly. Non-White patients were more likely to die in-hospital compared with White patients (68% vs. 46%; P=0.03).Thirty-nine percent of patients had documented preference for location of death available. In this cohort, non-White patients remained more likely to die in the hospital (64% vs. 29%). The location of death was concordant with expressed preference in the majority of patients in both groups.&ldquo;Although fewer non-White patients in our cohort preferred to die at home, all of those who expressed this preference successfully achieved goal-concordant location of death,&rdquo; the researchers noted. &ldquo;Further investigation exploring the factors that inform racial/ethnic differences in family goals for end-of-life care are clearly needed to ensure the provision of equitable and goal-concordant PPC.&rdquo;

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A new study of palliative care in pediatric oncology has found that non-White children were more likely to die in the ...

Racial Differences in Palliative Care for Childhood Cancers

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