Ethnic Disparities in Hospice Care
By Angela Morrow, RN, Palliative Care Blog, Guide to Palliative Care
A research study published in the January 2009 issue of the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society (JAGS) reports that blacks and Asians with terminal cancer use end-of-life services less frequently than do whites and Hispanics. Researchers studied the records of 41,000 terminal cancer patients over age 65 who utilized hospice care under the Medicare benefit.
Racial and Ethnic Difference in Preference for End of Life Treatment 
Amber Barnato et al, University of Pittsburgh
NHPCO Facts and Figures: Hospice Care in America
National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization
October 2008
Racial disparity in hospice use in the United States in 2002
Palliative Medicine 2008; 22: 205-213
Racial/Ethnic Disparities in Hospice Care: A Systematic Review
Lilian Liou Cohen, M.D., M.P.H.
Journal of Palliative Medicine
Racial Differences in the Willingness to Use Hospice Services
Robert L. Ludke, Ph.D., and Douglas R. Smucker, M.D., M.P.H.
Geographic Variation in Hospice Use in the United States in 2002
Stephen R. Connor, PhD, Felix Elwert, PhD, Carol Spence, RN, MSN, and Nicholas A. Christakis, MD, PhD
Journal of Pain and Symptom Management
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