Study Provides Insight Into Local Usage and Perceptions About End-of-Life Care

MADISON, Wis. – Wisconsin’s largest hospice, Madison-based nonprofit Agrace HospiceCare., today released results from a scientific survey it conducted in Dane and Rock counties providing important new insights into usage and perceptions of end-of-life care. Results showed that one in two Dane and Rock county residents has had an experience with a hospice program or service.

The study, conducted by Chamberlain Research Consultants Inc., revealed that 91 percent of those surveyed would prefer to spend their last six months of life at home with family, rather than in an intensive care unit treating an illness that cannot be cured. Among those surveyed, the most common reason given for choosing hospice care for a personal situation was if others were “burdened” with providing caregiving. The second most commonly cited reason was that hospice services are available 24 hours per day, seven days a week.

The vast majority of respondents, 92 percent, indicated that if they received a terminal diagnosis, they would expect their doctor to include hospice services as one of their treatment options. Yet of those respondents who knew someone who had received services from Agrace HospiceCare., only 55 percent believed that person had heard about Agrace HospiceCare from their healthcare provider.

Some misconceptions about hospice services were called out by the survey results, such as the fact that 70 percent of respondents did not know that hospice is fully covered by Medicare, Medicaid and most private insurances. Yet survey participants indicated that the financial relief provided by hospice care was one of the most important aspects of hospice services.

The survey also identified substantial confusion about the differences between local and national for- and nonprofit hospices, with 56 percent of respondents unaware that for-profit and nonprofit hospice organizations offer different services from one another and have different quality standards.

“As this area’s nonprofit hospice partner for more than 30 years, it was important for us to learn the misconceptions called out by this survey,” said Agrace HospiceCare President/CEO Susan Phillips. “This new information will help us more effectively educate the public and our healthcare partners as we continue to build a community in which exceptional end-of-life care is accepted, expected and available to all.”

Agrace HospiceCare’s survey was conducted via telephone with 503 residents of Dane and Rock counties, age 30 and older, in November 2010. Quota controls were set on demographic questions to ensure results were representative of the general population. All statistical hypothesis tests are reported at the 95 percent confidence level and the overall margin of error for this study is ± 4 percent (± 6 percent at the individual county level).

Contact: Liz Kopling, Media Relations Specialist
Office:  (608) 327-7219    Cell:  (608) 772-9653

Agrace HospiceCare. is a nonprofit, community-based hospice dedicated to providing physical, emotional and spiritual support to patients and families dealing with life-limiting illnesses. With offices in Madison and Janesville, Agrace HospiceCare serves residents in Dane, Green, Jefferson, Rock and Walworth counties.

###