Hospice Provides What Americans Want

The hospice philosophy holds that end-of-life care should emphasize quality of life. The object is to treat the whole person and not the disease. A nationwide Gallup survey conducted for the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization produced five key outcomes:

1. Nine out of 10 adults would prefer to be cared for at home rather than in a hospital or nursing home if diagnosed with a terminal illness. Hospice does provide the option of being cared for at a place the patient calls home: 96% of hospice care is provided in the patient’s home or place they call home.
2. An overwhelming majority of adults said they would be interested in the comprehensive program of care at home that hospice programs provide, yet most Americans know little or nothing about their eligibility for or availability of hospice.
   
3. When asked to name their greatest fear associated with death, respondents most cited “being a burden to family and friends,” followed by “pain” and “lack of control.” Addressing the whole range of physical and psychological needs of the patient and his or her family in an interdisciplinary way is what makes hospice care so special.
   
4. 90% of adults believe it is the family’s responsibility to care for the dying. Hospice provides families with the support needed to keep their loved one at home, and can take over fully to give the caretaker short “respite” periods.
   
5. Most adults believe it would take a year or more to adjust to the death of a loved one. However, only 10% of adults have ever participated in a bereavement program or grief counseling following the death of a loved one. Hospice programs offer one year of grief counseling for the surviving family and friends.

By allowing trained professionals to help, hospice care alleviates many of the troubles and concerns commonly associated with death.