African Americans and End-of-Life Care: A Special Report

The latest numbers show that in 2007, Black Americans accounted for just over 13 percent of the US population, but only nine percent of an overwhelmingly white-dominated hospice patient population.

Hospice Foundation of America has produced a DVD focusing on "African Americans and End-of-Life Care," which examines African-American attitudes about care at the end of life, offers explanations as to why this hospice disparity exists, and suggests practical ways to shrink the gap.

This rich and insightful Living with Grief special report is moderated by Frank Sesno and features Tawara D. Goode, MA, Director of the National Center for Cultural Competence; Wanda Henry-Jenkins, MHS, Manager of Bereavement Services at VITAS Innovative Hospice Care in Chicago's Northwest Program; Karla FC Holloway, PhD, a Duke University professor and author of Passed On: African American Mourning Stories; Richard Payne, MD, Director of the Duke Institute on Care at the End of Life; and LaFrance Williams, whose husband died in the care of hospice earlier this year.

The one-hour program includes a discussion of the long-held belief of African-Americans' mistrust towards the medical system, and the connections that might have to low hospice utilization; the influence of religion and spirituality in the lives of many African Americans, and its impact on end-of-life decision making; and issues of grief and bereavement particular to the African-American community. The DVD also highlights a program in Kansas City focusing on outreach to African Americans and offers practical advice about hospice outreach efforts. The program is now available for purchase. Continuing Education credits for social workers, nurses and counselors will be available for a small, additional fee in September.

Please note: Black Americans is a category used in US Census data, which includes African Americans. NHPCO uses Black/African Americans.