Disparities identified in palliative care use among men with prostate cancer

Disparities identified in palliative care use among men with prostate cancer
Renal + Urology News; by Natasha Persaud; 6/4/24
Palliative care utilization among men with prostate cancer is suboptimal but improving, investigators reported at the 2024 ASCO annual meeting in Chicago, Illinois. Stanley Ozogbo, MBBS, MPH, of St Elizabeth Youngstown Hospital in Ohio, and colleagues studied over 2 million prostate cancer hospital admissions using the 2010-2019 US Nationwide Inpatient Sample. The found an overall prevalence of palliative utilization of 5.3% even though palliative care consultations significantly improved by an average of 7.7% per year over the study period. Utilization improved from 2010 through 2016, but then began to decline from 2017-2019. The study identified disparities in palliative utilization. Black patients were 7% less likely than White patients to receive palliative care services, Dr Ozogbo’s team reported. Compared with Medicare recipients, patients with Medicaid, private insurance, or other insurance types had significant 1.5-, 1.3-, and 2.2-fold increased odds of palliative care utilization, respectively. Patients aged 70 years or older were a significant 6% more likely to receive palliative care compared with younger patients. Palliative care use was a significant 9% and 40% more likely for patients admitted to urban vs rural hospitals and teaching vs non-teaching hospitals, respectively, the investigators reported. Hospitals in the Northeast were 1.4- and 1.5-fold more likely to refer to palliative care compared with hospitals in the South or West, respectively.