Do Palliative Care Providers Use Complementary and Integrative Medicine? A Nationwide Survey.

CONTEXT: Given the high prevalence of burdensome symptoms in palliative care (PC) and increasing use of complementary and integrative medicine (CIM) therapies, research is needed to determine how often and what types of CIM therapies providers recommend to manage symptoms in PC. OBJECTIVES: To document recommendation rates of CIM for target symptoms and assess if, CIM use varies by provider characteristics. METHODS: Nationwide survey's of physicians (MD and DO), physician assistants, and nurse practitioners in PC. RESULTS: Participants (N = 404) were mostly female (71.3%), physicians (74.9%), and cared for adults (90.4%). Providers recommended CIM an average of 6.82 times per-month (95% CI: 6.04-7.60) and used an average of 5.13 (95% CI: 4.90-5.36) out of 10 CIM modalities. Respondents recommended mind-body medicines (e.g., meditation, biofeedback) most, followed by massage, and acupuncture and/or acupressure. The most targeted symptoms included pain; followed by anxiety, mood disturbance, and distress. Recommendation frequencies for specific modality-for-symptom combinations ranged from little use (e.g., aromatherapy for constipation) to occasional use (e.g., mind-body interventions for psychiatric symptoms). Finally, recommendation rates increased as a function of pediatric practice, noninpatient practice setting, provider age, and proportion of effort spent delivering palliative care. CONCLUSION: To the best of our knowledge, this is the first national survey to characterize PC providers' CIM recommendation behaviors and assess specific therapies and common target symptoms. Providers recommended a broad range of CIM but do so less frequently than patients report using CIM. These findings should be of interest to any provider caring for patients with serious illness.

Prevalence rates of arthritis among US older adults with varying degrees of depression: Findings from the 2011 to 2014 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.

OBJECTIVE: Arthritis and depressive symptoms often interact and negatively influence one another to worsen mental and physical health outcomes. Better characterization of arthritis rates among older adults with different levels of depressive symptoms is an important step toward informing mental health professionals of the need to detect and respond to arthritis and related mental health complications. The primary objective is to determine arthritis rates among US older adults with varying degrees of depression. METHODS: Using National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2011 to 2014 data (N = 4792), we first identified participants aged ≥50 years. Measures screened for depressive symptoms and self-reported doctor-diagnosed arthritis. Weighted logistic regression models were conducted. RESULTS: Prevalence of arthritis was 55.0%, 62.9%, and 67.8% in participants with minor, moderate, and severe depression, respectively. In both unadjusted and adjusted regression models, a significant association between moderate depression and arthritis persisted. There were also significant associations between minor and severe depression with arthritis. CONCLUSIONS: Arthritis is commonly reported in participants with varying degrees of depression. This study highlights the importance of screening for and treating arthritis-related pain in older adults with depressive symptoms and the need for future geriatric psychiatry research on developing integrated biopsychosocial interventions for these common conditions.

Events Leading to Hospital-Related Disenrollment of Home Hospice Patients: A Study of Primary Caregivers' Perspectives.

BACKGROUND: Approximately 25% of hospice disenrollments in the United States occur as the result of hospitalization, which can lead to burdensome transitions and undesired care. Informal caregivers (e.g., spouses, children) play a critical role in caring for patients on home hospice. Research examining hospital-related disenrollment among these patients is limited. OBJECTIVE: To understand the events surrounding the hospitalization of patients discharged from home hospice through the perspective of their informal caregivers. DESIGN: Thirty-eight semistructured phone interviews with caregivers were conducted, and data regarding the events leading to hospitalization and hospice disenrollment were collected. Study data were analyzed by using qualitative methods. SETTING/SUBJECTS: Subjects included caregivers of 38 patients who received services from one not-for-profit home hospice organization in New York City. Participants were English speaking only. MEASUREMENTS: Caregiver recordings were transcribed and analyzed by using content analysis. RESULTS: Content analysis revealed four major themes contributing to hospitalization: (1) distressing/difficult-to-witness signs and symptoms, (2) needing palliative interventions not deliverable in the home setting, (3) preference to be cared for by nonhospice physicians or at a local hospital, and (4) caregivers not comfortable with the death of their care recipient at home. Over half of all caregivers called 911 before calling hospice. CONCLUSIONS: Our study provides insight into the events leading to hospitalization of home hospice patients from the caregivers' perspective. Further research is needed to quantify the drivers of hospitalization and to develop interventions that reduce utilization, while improving care for home hospice patients and their caregivers.