Knowledge of Hospice Care among Korean American Immigrants in Deep South

Despite the benefits of hospice care in end-of-life care, there is a dearth of research on the knowledge or perceptions of hospice care, particularly among immigrants. A handful number of existing studies with this population have mainly used qualitative research methods. The purpose of the current study was to investigate the knowledge about hospice care and identify its predictors. We used cross-sectional data from 256 Korean American immigrants living in Alabama (Mean age = 44.78, range 23–70, 50.4% female). The outcome variable was measured by whether the respondents had heard of hospice care. Independent variables included sociodemographic (age, gender, education, and income), health (functional limitation and chronic conditions), health care access (health literacy, health insurance, unmet medical needs due to the cost, and social isolation). Logistic regression analyses were performed. About 78% of the respondents reported that they had heard of hospice care. Older age (OR=1.05, 95% CI=1.01-1.09, p