Kentucky Comfort Care: Understanding and Awareness of Palliative and Hospice Care in Kentucky Adults

Abstract

Kentucky has an overwhelming need for both palliative and hospice care services because of the high percentage of individuals who struggle with chronic or life-threatening conditions. Studies have shown that access to palliative and hospice care may be inhibited by the knowledge patients have of these services. The purpose of this study was to examine the awareness and understanding Kentuckians have of palliative and hospice care and to determine the factors influencing them. A 22-question survey was administered to collect information about Kentuckians understanding of available palliative and hospice care services and common vocabulary used by providers in these settings. Respondents’ age ranges from 19-63 years old. Respondents most frequently had “Some college” as their highest education attainment, and half has experience working/studying in the medical field. Most of the respondents selected “no knowledge” as their awareness of palliative care and most selected “some knowledge as their awareness of hospice care. More respondents were able to provide a definition of hospice care than palliative care when asked (96.6% and 53.8% respectively). Overall, Kentucky adults in this study showed a lack of awareness and understanding of palliative and hospice care services. This study highlights the overwhelming need for available educational resources for those who are experiencing either type of health care services