Rural-urban disparities in place of death in hematologic malignancies in the United States, 2003 to 2019

• Authors: SMQ Hussaini, Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore; Amanda L Blackford, Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore; Arjun Gupta, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis; Ramy Sedhom, University of Pennsylvania; Sarah Cross, Emory University; Haider J Warraich, Brigham and Women’s Hospital; Thomas W LeBlanc, Duke Cancer Institute
• Journal Title: BLOOD ADVANCES
• Volume: Volume 6, Number 16
• Publisher: ELSEVIER | 2022-08-16, Pages 4731-4734
• Type of Work: Article | Final Publisher PDF
• Publisher DOI: http://doi.org/10.1182/bloodadvances.2022007276
• Subjects: Health Sciences, Oncology
• Keywords: Science & Technology; Life Sciences & Biomedicine; Hematology; CANCER CARE; HOSPICE; FACILITY; LIFE; HOME; END

Abstract

More than 55 000 people die annually from hematologic malignancies in the United States.1 They frequently receive aggressive care toward the end of life and are more likely to die in a hospital compared with those with solid tumors.2,3 Appropriate care is dependent on a health care infrastructure that considers the relevant needs for this population. Approximately 46 million Americans (15% of US population) live in rural areas with notable gaps in health care funding and access to hospice care. We investigated rural-urban disparities in place of death (POD) for individuals dying from hematologic malignancies in the United States.