Characteristics of patients receiving hospice care services: United States, 1994.

OBJECTIVE This report presents data on current hospice care patients. Numbers and percents are shown by selected characteristics of the agencies from which the patients received services, by selected patient characteristics, by services provided, by types of personnel that provided the services, and by diagnoses of these patients. METHODS The data used for this report are from the National Center for Health Statistics' 1994 National Home and Hospice Care Survey. This is an annual survey through which data are collected on the use of hospices and home health care agencies in the United States. RESULTS An estimated 61,000 patients were receiving hospice care services from 1,300 hospices and home health agencies in 1994. Fifty-five percent were women, 69 percent were 65 years of age and over, 81 percent were white patients, 48 percent were married, and 31 percent were widowed. Eighty-four percent were living in a private or semi-private residence, and 90 percent had a primary caregiver. Sixty percent received help from the agency with at least one activity of daily living (ADL), 46 percent with at least one instrumental activity of daily living (IADL), and 26 percent with walking. At admission, there was an average of 2.2 diagnoses per patient; 57 percent had a primary diagnosis of a malignant neoplasm and 9 percent had a primary diagnosis of heart disease.