cause depression in caregivers
Delayed enrollment in hospice can result in increased depression among family members after the death of their loved one, according to a study by Yale researchers published in the American Journal of Psychiatry.
The study followed over 200 family caregivers from the patient's first enrollment with hospice, through their death, and then for six months after the death.
"We found that shorter hospice enrollment was linked to elevated depression among family caregivers," says lead author Elizabeth Bradley, associate professor of public health at the School of Medicine. "The finding is particularly troublesome because nationally the length of hospice enrollment has been declining, with more patients enrolling only in the last week or days of life."
"It is often difficult to discuss, plan for, and then enroll with hospice, especially if the family is not fully aware of and accepting the patient's prognosis," says Emily Cherlin, co-author and research associate at Yale. "But the study reveals the importance of thinking about hospice earlier in the course of an illness."
The study was sponsored by the Nathan Cummings Foundation, The John D. Thompson Hospice Institute for Education, Training and Research, and the Donaghue Medical Research Foundation.
Other co-authors include Holly Prigerson, Stanislav Kasl and Melissa Carlson of Yale; and Rosemary Johnson-Huzerler of the Connecticut Hospice.
-- By Karen Peart
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