Educational Video May Effectively Inform Families About Hospice Care

MONDAY, June 8, 2020 (HealthDay News) — An educational video may better inform advanced cancer patients and their caregivers about hospice care, according to a study published online June 8 in Cancer.

Areej El-Jawahri, M.D., from Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, and colleagues randomly assigned 150 hospitalized patients with advanced cancer and their caregivers to either a six-minute video educational tool (75 patients and 18 caregivers) or a verbal description of hospice care that was identical to the video (75 patients and 26 caregivers).

The researchers observed no difference in patients’ preferences for hospice. The video group reported greater knowledge regarding hospice (9.0 versus 8.4) and were less likely to believe that hospice is only about death (6.7 versus 21.6 percent). Deceased patients assigned to the intervention were more likely to have used hospice (85.2 versus 63.6 percent) and to have had a longer hospice length of stay (median, 12 days versus three days). Caregivers assigned to the video were more likely to prefer hospice for their loved ones (94.4 versus 65.4 percent), reported greater knowledge of hospice (9.7 versus 8.0 percent), and were less likely to believe hospice is only about death (0.0 versus 23.1 percent).

“This work highlights the potential benefits of using video educational tools to better inform patients about their end of life options and impact the care they receive at the end of life,” El-Jawahri said in a statement.

El-Jawahri has acted as a paid consultant for AIMS Pathway.

Abstract/Full Text (subscription or payment may be required)