Impact of racial and marital status on health services utilization among veterans with terminal cancer.

e19639 Background: Little is known about the association of socio-demographic factors with health services utilization (HSU) for patients with terminal cancer receiving palliative care. The objectives of this study were to evaluate for race or marital status associated variations in HSU among Veterans with terminal cancer. Methods: In an IRB approved protocol, 103 advanced cancer patients receiving palliative care in the Section of Hematology Oncology at a VA Medical Center, but not hospice, were followed every 4-6 weeks from the start of palliative care to death from 2000-2002. This study sample consisted of a subset of 39 pts who received palliative care for at least 24 weeks. Their charts were retrospectively reviewed for measures of health system utilization (HSU), including total length of hospital days, number of admissions, number of clinic visits and emergency room (ER) visits. ANOVA and Chi-square tests were used to explore for potential disparities of HSU across race or marital status. Results: ...