End-of-Life Preferences, Length-of-Life Conversations, and Hospice Enrollment in Palliative Care: A Direct Observation Cohort Study among People with Advanced Cancer.

Abstract

Prognosis communication is one hypothesized mechanism by which effective palliative care (PC) promotes preference-concordant treatment near end of life (EOL), but little is known about this relationship. This is a multisite cohort study of 231 hospitalized patients with advanced cancer who consulted with PC. We audio-recorded the initial consultation with the PC team and coded conversations for all statements regarding expectations for how long the patient will live. We refer to these statements as length-of-life talk. We followed patients for up to six months to determine EOL treatment utilization, including hospice enrollment. Patients completed a brief interviewer-facilitated questionnaire at study enrollment. Forty-four percent (101/231) of observed conversations contained at least one statement about expectations for length of life, and 60% of patients (139/231) enrolled in hospice during the six months following these conversations. The association between length-of-life talk and hospice enrollment was strong among those (155/231) who endorsed treatment preferences favoring comfort over longevity in the last weeks to months of life (odds ratio [OR]adj = 2.98; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.34-6.65) and weak/absent among others (69/231; ORadj = 0.70; 95% CI = 0.16-3.04). Talking about expectations for remaining length of life during PC consultations is associated with six-month hospice enrollment among people with advanced cancer who endorse preferences for EOL treatment that favor comfort over longevity.