National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Report
Latest available findings on quality of and access to health care
Data
- Data Infographics
- Data Visualizations
- Data Tools
- Data Innovations
- All-Payer Claims Database
- Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP)
- Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS)
- AHRQ Quality Indicator Tools for Data Analytics
- State Snapshots
- United States Health Information Knowledgebase (USHIK)
- Data Sources Available from AHRQ
Search All Research Studies
AHRQ Research Studies Date
Topics
- Antibiotics (2)
- Antimicrobial Stewardship (2)
- Burnout (1)
- Cancer (5)
- Cancer: Lung Cancer (2)
- Cardiovascular Conditions (1)
- Caregiving (2)
- Care Management (2)
- Case Study (1)
- Clinician-Patient Communication (1)
- Communication (1)
- Community-Based Practice (2)
- Comparative Effectiveness (1)
- Diagnostic Safety and Quality (1)
- Disparities (1)
- Elderly (10)
- Evidence-Based Practice (2)
- Healthcare Costs (1)
- Healthcare Delivery (1)
- Healthcare Utilization (2)
- Heart Disease and Health (2)
- Home Healthcare (3)
- Hospitalization (1)
- Intensive Care Unit (ICU) (1)
- Kidney Disease and Health (1)
- Long-Term Care (1)
- Medicare (3)
- Medication (2)
- Neurological Disorders (1)
- Outcomes (1)
- (-) Palliative Care (26)
- Patient-Centered Healthcare (3)
- Patient-Centered Outcomes Research (5)
- Patient Experience (1)
- Patient Safety (1)
- Practice Patterns (1)
- Provider (1)
- Provider: Clinician (1)
- Provider: Health Personnel (2)
- Provider: Physician (1)
- Quality Improvement (2)
- Quality of Care (4)
- Quality of Life (1)
- Racial and Ethnic Minorities (1)
- Respiratory Conditions (1)
- Risk (1)
- Shared Decision Making (1)
- Social Determinants of Health (1)
- Surgery (1)
- Transitions of Care (2)
- Urinary Tract Infection (UTI) (1)
- Workforce (1)
AHRQ Research Studies
Sign up: AHRQ Research Studies Email updates
Research Studies is a compilation of published research articles funded by AHRQ or authored by AHRQ researchers.
Results
1 to 25 of 26 Research Studies DisplayedLi Z, Frost HR, Tosteson TD
A semiparametric joint model for terminal trend of quality of life and survival in palliative care research.
A unique feature of palliative care clinical trials is that patients will experience decreasing quality of life (QOL) during the trial despite potentially beneficial treatment. Often longitudinal QOL and survival data are highly correlated which, in the face of censoring, makes it challenging to properly analyze and interpret terminal QOL trend. To address these issues, the authors of this study proposed a novel semiparametric statistical approach to jointly model the terminal trend of QOL and survival data.
AHRQ-funded; HS020263.
Citation: Li Z, Frost HR, Tosteson TD .
A semiparametric joint model for terminal trend of quality of life and survival in palliative care research.
Stat Med 2017 Dec 20;36(29):4692-704. doi: 10.1002/sim.7445..
Keywords: Palliative Care, Quality of Life
Khandelwal N, Curtis JR, Freedman VA
How often is end-of-life care in the United States inconsistent with patients' goals of care?
The purpose of this study was to document the proportion of bereaved respondents who reported care inconsistent with patients' wishes and characterize the predictors of end-of-life care associated with inconsistent care. The study found that one in eight respondents stated care in the last months of life was inconsistent with patients' wishes; such care was associated with worse ratings of care, pain management, and communication with clinicians.
AHRQ-funded; HS022982.
Citation: Khandelwal N, Curtis JR, Freedman VA .
How often is end-of-life care in the United States inconsistent with patients' goals of care?
J Palliat Med 2017 Dec;20(12):1400-04. doi: 10.1089/jpm.2017.0065..
Keywords: Care Management, Healthcare Delivery, Elderly, Palliative Care, Patient-Centered Healthcare, Quality of Care
Aslakson R, Dy SM, Wilson RF
Patient and caregiver-reported assessment tools for palliative care: summary of the 2017 AHRQ Technical Brief.
This paper summarizes palliative care assessment tools completed by or with patients or caregivers, and identifies needs for future tool development and evaluation. It concluded that few to no tools address the spiritual, ethical, or cultural domains or patient-reported experience with end of life care. While some data exists on psychometric properties of tools, the responsiveness of different tools to change and/or comparisons between tools have not been evaluated.
AHRQ-funded; 290201500006I.
Citation: Aslakson R, Dy SM, Wilson RF .
Patient and caregiver-reported assessment tools for palliative care: summary of the 2017 AHRQ Technical Brief.
J Pain Symptom Manage 2017 Dec;54(6):961-72.e16. doi: 10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2017.04.022.
.
.
Keywords: Caregiving, Evidence-Based Practice, Palliative Care, Patient Experience, Patient-Centered Outcomes Research
Kruser JM, Rakhra SS, Sacotte RM
Intensive care unit outcomes among patients with cancer after palliative radiation therapy.
To inform goals of care discussions at the time of palliative radiation therapy (RT) consultation, researchers sought to characterize intensive care unit (ICU) outcomes for patients treated with palliative RT compared to all other patients with metastatic cancer admitted to the ICU. They found that prior treatment with palliative RT is associated with increased in-hospital mortality after ICU admission.
AHRQ-funded; HS000078.
Citation: Kruser JM, Rakhra SS, Sacotte RM .
Intensive care unit outcomes among patients with cancer after palliative radiation therapy.
Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys 2017 Nov 15;99(4):854-58. doi: 10.1016/j.ijrobp.2017.06.2463.
.
.
Keywords: Cancer, Intensive Care Unit (ICU), Palliative Care, Patient-Centered Outcomes Research
Kamal AH, Nicolla JM, Power S
Quality improvement pearls for the palliative care and hospice professional.
In this article, the authors provide a prioritized list of 10 tips specifically aimed to palliative care and hospice professionals, using their experience in both failures and successes in performing quality improvement. They aim to demystify quality improvement, highlight areas where rigor and a systematic approach are needed for success, and offer their own lessons learned and mistakes made to promote success for others.
AHRQ-funded; HS023681.
Citation: Kamal AH, Nicolla JM, Power S .
Quality improvement pearls for the palliative care and hospice professional.
J Pain Symptom Manage 2017 Nov;54(5):758-65. doi: 10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2017.07.040..
Keywords: Palliative Care, Quality of Care, Quality Improvement
Bull J, Kamal AH, Harker M
Standardization and scaling of a community-based palliative care model.
In 2014, Four Seasons Compassion for Life was awarded a Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Health Care Innovation (CMMI) Award to expand upon their existing model to implement, evaluate, and demonstrate Community-Based Palliative Care (CBPC) in the United States. The objective of this article is to describe the processes and challenges of scaling and standardizing the CBPC model.
AHRQ-funded; HS023681.
Citation: Bull J, Kamal AH, Harker M .
Standardization and scaling of a community-based palliative care model.
J Palliat Med 2017 Nov;20(11):1237-43. doi: 10.1089/jpm.2017.0027..
Keywords: Community-Based Practice, Palliative Care, Elderly
Bull J, Kamal AH, Harker M
Tracking patients in community-based palliative care through the centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Healthcare Innovation Project.
In 2014, Four Seasons Compassion for Life was awarded a Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Healthcare Innovation Award to expand an existing Community-Based Palliative Care (CBPC) model into additional counties and to propose a new payment approach. The goal of this article is to evaluate the tracking of point of entry into palliative care and patient transition outcomes in the model.
AHRQ-funded; HS023681.
Citation: Bull J, Kamal AH, Harker M .
Tracking patients in community-based palliative care through the centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Healthcare Innovation Project.
J Palliat Med 2017 Nov;20(11):1231-36. doi: 10.1089/jpm.2017.0080..
Keywords: Palliative Care, Community-Based Practice, Elderly, Transitions of Care
Kamal AH, Taylor DH, Neely B
One size does not fit all: disease profiles of serious illness patients receiving specialty palliative care.
This study was one of the first to describe symptom burden and functional scores by diagnostic categories and care settings across a community-based interdisciplinary specialty palliative care program. Results demonstrated statistically significant and clinically relevant differences among settings of care, functional status, and symptom profiles between patients with various serious illnesses.
AHRQ-funded; HS023681.
Citation: Kamal AH, Taylor DH, Neely B .
One size does not fit all: disease profiles of serious illness patients receiving specialty palliative care.
J Pain Symptom Manage 2017 Oct;54(4):476-83. doi: 10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2017.07.035..
Keywords: Quality of Care, Palliative Care, Quality Improvement
Wang SY, Dang W, Aldridge MD
Associations of hospice disenrollment and hospitalization with continuous home care provision.
The researchers examined rates of hospice disenrollment and posthospice hospitalization among patients who are enrolled in hospices that provide continuous home care (CHC) (CHC hospices) compared with patients who are enrolled in hospices that do not offer CHC (non-CHC hospices). They concluded that CHC hospices had significantly lower rates of hospice disenrollment and posthospice hospitalization, suggesting CHC service available may enable higher quality of end-of-life care.
AHRQ-funded; HS023900.
Citation: Wang SY, Dang W, Aldridge MD .
Associations of hospice disenrollment and hospitalization with continuous home care provision.
Med Care 2017 Sep;55(9):848-55. doi: 10.1097/mlr.0000000000000776.
.
.
Keywords: Elderly, Home Healthcare, Hospitalization, Palliative Care
Jorgensen SM, Carnahan RM, Weckmann MT
Validity of the delirium observation screening scale in identifying delirium in home hospice patients.
The Delirium Observation Screening Scale (DOS) was developed to improve delirium recognition but has yet to be validated in the home hospice setting. This pilot study aimed to explore the accuracy of the DOS for identifying delirium in home hospice patients. It concluded that the DOS appears to be an accurate way to screen for delirium in home hospice patients.
AHRQ-funded; HS022666.
Citation: Jorgensen SM, Carnahan RM, Weckmann MT .
Validity of the delirium observation screening scale in identifying delirium in home hospice patients.
Am J Hosp Palliat Care 2017 Sep;34(8):744-47. doi: 10.1177/1049909116658468.
.
.
Keywords: Diagnostic Safety and Quality, Elderly, Home Healthcare, Neurological Disorders, Palliative Care
Wang SY, Aldridge MD, Gross CP
End-of-life care transition patterns of Medicare beneficiaries.
The researchers characterized the patterns of transitions in care and factors associated with multiple transitions in the last 6 months of life of U.S. decedents (N = 660,132). They found that 218,731 had four or more transitions within the last 6 months of life. Women, blacks, individuals younger than 85, and individuals without dementia were more likely to have four or more transitions.
AHRQ-funded; HS023900.
Citation: Wang SY, Aldridge MD, Gross CP .
End-of-life care transition patterns of Medicare beneficiaries.
J Am Geriatr Soc 2017 Jul;65(7):1406-13. doi: 10.1111/jgs.14891.
.
.
Keywords: Elderly, Medicare, Palliative Care, Transitions of Care
Moss DK
AHRQ Author: Moss DK
Getting it right at the end of life.
With the help of a palliative care team, the author's terminally ill mother dies on her own terms.
AHRQ-authored.
Citation: Moss DK .
Getting it right at the end of life.
Health Aff 2017 Jul;36(7):1336-39. doi: 10.1377/hlthaff.2016.1279.
.
.
Keywords: Caregiving, Palliative Care
Schuler MS, Joyce NR, Huskamp HA
Medicare beneficiaries with advanced lung cancer experience diverse patterns of care from diagnosis to death.
Using Medicare claims data for patients diagnosed with extensive-stage small-cell lung cancer, the authors used latent class analysis to identify classes of people with different care patterns. The findings showed substantial heterogeneity in patterns of care for patients with advanced cancer, which should be accounted for in efforts to improve end-of-life care.
AHRQ-funded; HS022998.
Citation: Schuler MS, Joyce NR, Huskamp HA .
Medicare beneficiaries with advanced lung cancer experience diverse patterns of care from diagnosis to death.
Health Aff 2017 Jul;36(7):1193-200. doi: 10.1377/hlthaff.2017.0448..
Keywords: Cancer, Cancer: Lung Cancer, Care Management, Elderly, Medicare, Palliative Care
Harrison KL, Dzeng E, Ritchie CS
Addressing palliative care clinician burnout in organizations: a workforce necessity, an ethical imperative.
Clinician burnout reduces the capacity for providers and health systems to deliver timely, high quality, patient-centered care and increases the risk that clinicians will leave practice. Efforts to mitigate and prevent burnout currently focus on individual clinicians. However, analysis of the problem of burnout should be expanded to include both individual- and systems-level factors as well as solutions; comprehensive interventions must address both.
AHRQ-funded; HS023681.
Citation: Harrison KL, Dzeng E, Ritchie CS .
Addressing palliative care clinician burnout in organizations: a workforce necessity, an ethical imperative.
J Pain Symptom Manage 2017 Jun;53(6):1091-96. doi: 10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2017.01.007.
.
.
Keywords: Burnout, Palliative Care, Patient-Centered Healthcare, Provider: Clinician, Provider: Physician, Provider
Bostwick D, Wolf S, Samsa G
Comparing the palliative care needs of those with cancer to those with common non-cancer serious illness.
Researchers compared functionality, advanced care planning, hospital admissions, prognosis, quality of life, pain, dyspnea, fatigue, and depression between patients with cancer and three non-cancer diagnoses-end-stage renal disease (ESRD), heart failure (HF), and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Patients with COPD, ESRD, and HF were less functional and more likely to be hospitalized at time of referral to palliative care than cancer patients.
AHRQ-funded; HS022763.
Citation: Bostwick D, Wolf S, Samsa G .
Comparing the palliative care needs of those with cancer to those with common non-cancer serious illness.
J Pain Symptom Manage 2017 Jun;53(6):1079-84.e1. doi: 10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2017.02.014.
.
.
Keywords: Cancer, Respiratory Conditions, Kidney Disease and Health, Heart Disease and Health, Palliative Care
Iyer AS, Bakitas M
Early palliative care in advanced illness: do right by mama.
This letter describes a case study where the doctor and the family decided not to do aggressive treatment on their mother in her 80’s with metastatic lung cancer and pneumonia. After describing the intubation procedure and the use of mechanical ventilation, the family decided that palliative care was the best option. The doctor emphasizes the use of palliative care as the best outcome for many terminally ill patients.
AHRQ-funded; HS023009; HS013852.
Citation: Iyer AS, Bakitas M .
Early palliative care in advanced illness: do right by mama.
JAMA Intern Med 2017 Jun;177(6):761-62. doi: 10.1001/jamainternmed.2017.0764.
.
.
Keywords: Cancer, Cancer: Lung Cancer, Case Study, Shared Decision Making, Elderly, Palliative Care, Patient-Centered Outcomes Research
Kamal AH, Bull J, Wolf SP
Unmet needs of African Americans and whites at the time of palliative care consultation.
Researchers aimed to compare characteristics and palliative care needs of African Americans (AAs) and whites during initial palliative care consultation. Nearly two-thirds in both racial groups reported 3 or more symptoms of any severity; one-third reported 3 or more moderate or severe symptoms. A larger proportion of Africans than whites reported pain of any severity.
AHRQ-funded; HS023681; HS022763.
Citation: Kamal AH, Bull J, Wolf SP .
Unmet needs of African Americans and whites at the time of palliative care consultation.
Am J Hosp Palliat Care 2017 Jun;34(5):461-65. doi: 10.1177/1049909116632508.
.
.
Keywords: Disparities, Quality of Care, Palliative Care, Patient-Centered Outcomes Research, Racial and Ethnic Minorities
Kavalieratos D, Siconolfi DE, Steinhauser KE
"It is like heart failure. It is chronic ... and it will kill you": a qualitative analysis of burnout among hospice and palliative care clinicians.
This study explored burnout among palliative care clinicians, specifically their experiences with burnout, their perceived sources of burnout, and potential individual, interpersonal, organizational, and policy-level solutions to address burnout. Common sources of burnout included increasing workload, tensions between nonspecialists and palliative care specialists, and regulatory issues. Participants proposed antiburnout solutions, including promoting the provision of generalist palliative care, frequent rotations on-and-off service, and organizational support for self-care.
AHRQ-funded; HS023681; HS022989.
Citation: Kavalieratos D, Siconolfi DE, Steinhauser KE .
"It is like heart failure. It is chronic ... and it will kill you": a qualitative analysis of burnout among hospice and palliative care clinicians.
J Pain Symptom Manage 2017 May;53(5):901-10.e1. doi: 10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2016.12.337.
.
.
Keywords: Provider: Health Personnel, Palliative Care, Workforce
Furuno JP, Noble BN, Bearden DT
Feasibility of retrospective pharmacovigilance studies in hospice care: a case study of antibiotics for the treatment of urinary tract infections.
In this letter to the editor, the authors assert that pharmacovigilance may be useful to improve the evidence base for medication use in hospice care and an efficient alternative to expensive and logistically complicated clinical trials. They discuss the feasibility of retrospective pharmacovigilance studies in hospice care and provide a case study of antibiotics for the treatment of urinary tract infections.
AHRQ-funded; HS023366.
Citation: Furuno JP, Noble BN, Bearden DT .
Feasibility of retrospective pharmacovigilance studies in hospice care: a case study of antibiotics for the treatment of urinary tract infections.
J Palliat Med 2017 Apr;20(4):316-17. doi: 10.1089/jpm.2016.0531..
Keywords: Antibiotics, Evidence-Based Practice, Healthcare Utilization, Medication, Palliative Care, Urinary Tract Infection (UTI)
Rocque GB, Dionne-Odom JN, Sylvia Huang CH
Implementation and impact of patient lay navigator-led advance care planning conversations.
Advance care planning (ACP) improves alignment between patient preferences for life-sustaining treatment and care received at end of life (EOL). This study evaluated implementation of lay navigator-led ACP and concluded that a navigator-led ACP program was feasible and may be associated with lower rates of resource utilization near EOL.
AHRQ-funded; HS023009.
Citation: Rocque GB, Dionne-Odom JN, Sylvia Huang CH .
Implementation and impact of patient lay navigator-led advance care planning conversations.
J Pain Symptom Manage 2017 Apr;53(4):682-92. doi: 10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2016.11.012.
.
.
Keywords: Communication, Elderly, Palliative Care, Patient-Centered Healthcare, Provider: Health Personnel
Yim CK, Barron Y, Moore S
Hospice enrollment in patients with advanced heart failure decreases acute medical service utilization.
Patients with advanced heart failure (HF) enroll in hospice at low rates, and data on their acute medical service utilization after hospice enrollment is limited. This descriptive analysis of Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries found that home health care Medicare beneficiaries with advanced HF who enrolled in hospice had lower acute medical service utilization after their enrollment.
AHRQ-funded; HS020257.
Citation: Yim CK, Barron Y, Moore S .
Hospice enrollment in patients with advanced heart failure decreases acute medical service utilization.
Circ Heart Fail 2017 Mar;10(3). doi: 10.1161/circheartfailure.116.003335.
.
.
Keywords: Cardiovascular Conditions, Heart Disease and Health, Healthcare Utilization, Medicare, Palliative Care
Koroukian SM, Schiltz NK, Warner DF
Social determinants, multimorbidity, and patterns of end-of-life care in older adults dying from cancer.
In this study, the researchers examined the association between end-of-life care and each of the social determinants of health and multimorbidity (MM), hypothesizing that higher MM is associated with less aggressive care. They found that, while 61.2 percent of the patients enrolled in hospice, 24.6 percent underwent cancer-directed treatment; 55.1 percent were admitted to the hospital and/or ED; and 21.7 percent died in the hospital.
AHRQ-funded; HS023113.
Citation: Koroukian SM, Schiltz NK, Warner DF .
Social determinants, multimorbidity, and patterns of end-of-life care in older adults dying from cancer.
J Geriatr Oncol 2017 Mar;8(2):117-24. doi: 10.1016/j.jgo.2016.10.001.
.
.
Keywords: Cancer, Elderly, Palliative Care, Social Determinants of Health
Wang S, Hsu SH, Huang S
Longer periods of hospice service associated with lower end-of-life spending in regions with high expenditures.
Hospice use is expected to decrease end-of-life expenditures, yet evidence for its financial impact remains inconclusive. This study found that longer periods of hospice service were associated with decreased end-of-life expenditures for patients residing in regions with high average expenditures but not for those in regions with low average expenditures.
AHRQ-funded; HS023900.
Citation: Wang S, Hsu SH, Huang S .
Longer periods of hospice service associated with lower end-of-life spending in regions with high expenditures.
Health Aff 2017 Feb;36(2):328-36. doi: 10.1377/hlthaff.2016.0683.
.
.
Keywords: Healthcare Costs, Palliative Care, Patient-Centered Outcomes Research
Nabozny MJ, Kruser JM, Steffens NM
Patient-reported limitations to surgical buy-in: a qualitative study of patients facing high-risk surgery.
The researchers characterized how patients buy-in to treatments beyond the operating room and what limits they would place on additional life-supporting treatments. Their recordings of patients' pre- and post-operative conversations with surgeons showed that patients expressed trust in their surgeon to make decisions about additional treatments if a serious complication occurred. However, patients expressed a preference for significant treatment limitations that were not discussed with their surgeon preoperatively.
AHRQ-funded; HS000078.
Citation: Nabozny MJ, Kruser JM, Steffens NM .
Patient-reported limitations to surgical buy-in: a qualitative study of patients facing high-risk surgery.
Ann Surg 2017 Jan;265(1):97-102. doi: 10.1097/sla.0000000000001645.
.
.
Keywords: Surgery, Palliative Care, Risk, Clinician-Patient Communication, Patient Safety
Rosenberg JH, Albrecht JS, Fromme EK
Antimicrobial use for symptom management in patients receiving hospice and palliative care: a systematic review.
This systematic review found that limited data are available on the use of antimicrobial therapy for symptom management among patients receiving palliative or hospice care. The lack of comparison between patients who did and did not receive antimicrobial therapy means that there is no accurate estimate of the effectiveness of antimicrobial therapy.
AHRQ-funded; HS021068
Citation: Rosenberg JH, Albrecht JS, Fromme EK .
Antimicrobial use for symptom management in patients receiving hospice and palliative care: a systematic review.
J Palliat Med. 2013 Dec;16(12):1568-74. doi: 10.1089/jpm.2013.0276..
Keywords: Comparative Effectiveness, Antimicrobial Stewardship, Long-Term Care, Palliative Care, Outcomes