TY - JOUR
T1 - Psychosocial, cultural, and spiritual health disparities in end-of-life and palliative care
T2 - Where we are and where we need to go
AU - Evans, Bronwynne
AU - Ume, Ebere
N1 - Funding Information:
The research described in this article was supported by grant R01NR010541 from the National Institute of Nursing Research, National Institutes of Health .
PY - 2012/11
Y1 - 2012/11
N2 - Although health disparities are well documented, the extent to which they affect end-of-life care is unknown. Limited research funding leads to sparse and often contradictory palliative care literature, with few studies on causal mechanisms. This article explores the psychosocial, cultural, and spiritual health disparities existing in palliative and end-of-life care with the goal of identifying future research needs. This article reports efforts to determine knowledge gaps related to health disparities in psychosocial, cultural, and spiritual aspects of end-of-life care in which the authors draw upon recent literature from multiple databases. Although few data are available, studies show that minorities make little use of hospice, often because of lack of knowledge about hospice or palliative care, family-centered cultures, and preferences for more aggressive end-of-life care than hospice allows. The authors conclude that future research should include a search for theoretical and causal mechanisms; prospective longitudinal investigations; diverse patients, conditions, contexts, and settings; methodological diversity and rigor; and interdisciplinary, culturally sensitive interventions.
AB - Although health disparities are well documented, the extent to which they affect end-of-life care is unknown. Limited research funding leads to sparse and often contradictory palliative care literature, with few studies on causal mechanisms. This article explores the psychosocial, cultural, and spiritual health disparities existing in palliative and end-of-life care with the goal of identifying future research needs. This article reports efforts to determine knowledge gaps related to health disparities in psychosocial, cultural, and spiritual aspects of end-of-life care in which the authors draw upon recent literature from multiple databases. Although few data are available, studies show that minorities make little use of hospice, often because of lack of knowledge about hospice or palliative care, family-centered cultures, and preferences for more aggressive end-of-life care than hospice allows. The authors conclude that future research should include a search for theoretical and causal mechanisms; prospective longitudinal investigations; diverse patients, conditions, contexts, and settings; methodological diversity and rigor; and interdisciplinary, culturally sensitive interventions.
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U2 - 10.1016/j.outlook.2012.08.008
DO - 10.1016/j.outlook.2012.08.008
M3 - Article
C2 - 23141196
AN - SCOPUS:84869014762
SN - 0029-6554
VL - 60
SP - 370
EP - 375
JO - Nursing Outlook
JF - Nursing Outlook
IS - 6
ER -