Table 1.
Characteristics of Decedents, Spouses, and Hospital Referral Region by Hospice Use (n = 1,567 dyads)
| Hospice users (n = 582)% | No hospice use (n = 985)% | p | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Decedent factors | |||
| Age at death, years, mean (SD) | 79.20 (8.04) | 77.96 (8.66) | 0.005 |
| Net worth quartile 1, lowest | 17.18 | 20.51 | 0.189 |
| Net worth quartile 2 | 26.46 | 28.32 | |
| Net worth quartile 3 | 29.04 | 25.28 | |
| Net worth quartile 4, highest | 27.32 | 25.89 | |
| <High school degree | 29.73 | 34.92 | 0.071 |
| High school degree | 53.26 | 47.72 | |
| >High school degree | 17.01 | 17.36 | |
| White, non-Hispanic | 85.74 | 79.09 | 0.004 |
| Black, non-Hispanic | 9.28 | 12.28 | |
| Hispanic | 4.47 | 6.60 | |
| Other race, non-Hispanic | NR | 2.03 | |
| Female | 30.24 | 29.34 | 0.706 |
| Nursing home resident | 7.73 | 10.46 | 0.075 |
| Religion very important | 65.12 | 64.26 | 0.732 |
| Relatives nearby | 34.88 | 32.59 | 0.353 |
| Death expected by family | 84.36 | 43.96 | <0.001 |
| Documented advance directive | 69.93 | 54.62 | <0.001 |
| ADL difficulty | 52.75 | 46.40 | 0.015 |
| IADL difficulty | 51.37 | 45.89 | 0.036 |
| Count comorbidities, mean (SD) | 8.28 (3.33) | 7.90 (3.60) | 0.037 |
| Alzheimer's/dementia | 33.51 | 27.61 | 0.014 |
| Chronic kidney disease | 41.92 | 47.72 | 0.026 |
| Ischemic heart disease | 54.12 | 63.25 | <0.001 |
| Congestive heart gailure | 47.59 | 56.55 | 0.001 |
| Diabetes | 38.14 | 45.18 | 0.007 |
| COPD | 53.61 | 48.12 | 0.036 |
| Stroke or TIA | 27.66 | 29.04 | 0.561 |
| Cancer | 37.80 | 20.81 | <0.001 |
| Atrial fibrillation | 36.60 | 37.36 | 0.763 |
| Hip fracture | 6.19 | 5.18 | 0.400 |
| Depression | 24.40 | 19.09 | 0.013 |
| Osteoporosis | 14.09 | 10.56 | 0.037 |
| Arthritis | 28.87 | 31.57 | 0.261 |
| Hospital nights last 2 years of life | 20.60 | 20.00 | 0.623 |
| Spousal factors | |||
| Age at death, mean (SD) | 76.51 (9.04) | 75.00 (9.76) | 0.005 |
| Same age category | 67.24 | 67.41 | 0.962 |
| Spouse older | 7.41 | 7.72 | |
| Spouse younger | 25.34 | 24.87 | |
| Education <high school | 23.54 | 30.46 | 0.007 |
| High school degree | 56.19 | 52.99 | |
| >High school | 20.27 | 16.55 | |
| Same education category | 66.84 | 60.71 | 0.015 |
| Spouse more education | 20.27 | 21.22 | |
| Spouse less education | 12.89 | 18.07 | |
| Comorbidities = none | 19.34 | 18.14 | 0.323 |
| Mild 1–3 | 72.47 | 71.41 | |
| Moderate/severe 4–7 | 8.19 | 10.45 | |
| SRH poor/fair | 30.07 | 35.13 | 0.040 |
| Psychiatric condition | 18.07 | 18.07 | 1.000 |
| ADL difficulty | 20.45 | 20.91 | 0.826 |
| IADL difficulty | 18.90 | 20.71 | 0.387 |
| Not primary caregiver | 34.19 | 47.82 | <0.001 |
| Primary caregiver end-of-life only | 36.25 | 27.41 | |
| Primary caregiver long-term | 29.55 | 24.77 | |
| Regional factors | |||
| Hospital care intensity index | 0.99 | 1.01 | 0.161 |
| Hospital beds per 1,000 residents | 2.53 | 2.55 | 0.473 |
| Specialists per 100,000 residents | 121.09 | 122.96 | 0.105 |
Hospice users defined as individuals who used hospice ≥1 days in last year of life. Regional level variables are at the hospital referral region level, matched by decedent zip code; net worth quartiles defined as follows: 25% = $51,401; 50% = $208,470; 75% = $572,199. Age category defined as <75, 75–84, ≥85.
SD, standard deviation; ADL, activities of daily living; IADL, instrumental activities of daily living; COPD, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; TIA, transient ischemic attack; SRH, self-reported health; NR, not reported due to Health and Retirement Study (HRS) restrictions on reporting cell size less than 10 observations.