Journal article
Support of cancer patients' spiritual needs and associations with medical care costs at the end of life
Tracy Balboni, Michael Balboni, M Elizabeth Paulk, Andrea Phelps, Alexi Wright, John Peteet, Susan Block, Chris Lathan, Tyler VanderWeele, Holly Prigerson
CANCER | WILEY | Published : 2011
DOI: 10.1002/cncr.26221
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Although spiritual care is associated with less aggressive medical care at the end of life (EOL), it remains infrequent. It is unclear if the omission of spiritual care impacts EOL costs. METHODS: A prospective, multisite study of 339 advanced cancer patients accrued subjects from September 2002 to August 2007 from an outpatient setting and followed them until death. Spiritual care was measured by patients' reports that the health care team supported their religious/spiritual needs. EOL costs in the last week were compared among patients reporting that their spiritual needs were inadequately supported versus those who reported that their needs were well supported. Analyses were a..
View full abstractGrants
Awarded by National Institute of Mental Health
Awarded by National Cancer Institute
Funding Acknowledgements
Supported by grant No. MHJ63892 from the National Institute of Mental Health, grant No. CA 106370 from the National Cancer Institute (H. P.), the Fetzer Foundation (H. P., M. E. P.), and an ASCO Young Investigator Award (T. B.). The funding organizations had no role in the design and conduct of the study; collection, analysis, or preparation of the data; or preparation, review, or approval of the manuscript.