An Examination of Hospice Use Among Children

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The purpose of this K01 Mentored Research Scientist Development Award is to prepare Lisa C. Lindley, PhD, RN for an independent health services and policy research career with a special focus on pediatric end-of-life care. The career development plan entails three objectives to achieve the career goals of the candidate that include: 1) developing a clinical and policy grounding in pediatric end-of-life care; 2) acquiring knowledge of advanced research methods and statistics; and 3) expanding research communication abilities. The development plan will consist of thoughtfully selected coursework and activities under the guidance of an expert mentorship and advisory team including Drs. Shih-Lung Shaw, Maureen Lyon, Jennifer Mack, Paul Erwin, and Don Bruce. The plan will also include conducting a study to examine hospice use among children that will lead to future R-series grant applications. The research project seeks to understand how the characteristics of children influence utilization of hospice care services. Using an innovative geographic information systems approach along with longitudinal administrative data, this study will employ a retrospective cohort design to address the following specific aims: 1) to explore geographic patterns of hospice use among children by describing the geographic distribution of pediatric hospice use, identify geographic clusters of pediatric hospice use, and compare geographic clusters of pediatric hospice use and nonuse; and 2) to examine the effects of child characteristics (i.e., geographic, demographic, health) on pediatric hospice use while controlling for community characteristics. It is anticipated that the results of the study will inform clinicaland policy initiatives on how to improve access to pediatric hospice care.