Characteristics of Patients Receiving Hospice Care at Home Versus in Nursing Homes: Results From the National Home and Hospice Care Survey and the National Nursing Home Survey

Abstract

This study examined 1170 deceased home hospice patients from the 1998 National Home and Hospice Care Survey and 617 deceased nursing home hospice patients from the 1997 and 1999 National Nursing Home Surveys. T tests and Bonferroni adjustments for multiple comparisons were performed to assess differences in characteristics of patients receiving hospice care at home versus in nursing homes. We found that the nursing home hospice population differs significantly from the home hospice population in the United States. Nursing home hospice patients were more likely to be older, have Medicaid as their primary payment source, have dementia and other noncancer primary diagnosis, and receive dietary/nutrition service, medication management, and physician services than home hospice patients.