See if you are eligible for our hospice professionals study

Click here to take a 5-minute survey to find out.

Not a hospice or palliative care professional? Check out our caregiver study to see if you are eligible.

About the Study

This study aims to document hospice practices and policies that influence care for people with dementia, particularly those from populations that experience health disparities. We will interview hospice and palliative care professionals and develop rich case descriptions of organizations that provide hospice services (with organizational surveys, observations of team meetings, policy documents). These findings will be crucial in identifying recommendations and opportunities to improve care.

Study Overview

Two groups are invited to participate in the study

Organizations providing hospice care and individuals in the organization

Individuals providing hospice care (not affiliated with an organization in the study)

*Some questions will be used to determine your eligibility. If we get more inquiries than people we can interview, some questions will be used to help us determine who to invite for interviews.

Is this study for me?

You may be eligible for this study if:

You provide(d) palliative or end-of-life care to people with dementia or their families (e.g., nurse, social worker, chaplain, home health aide, physician, occupational or physical therapist, pharmacist, etc. in an organization that provides hospice services).
You were part of an administrative team involved in the provision of hospice or palliative care services, including being a leader (CEO, CMO, CNO, etc), admissions team member, part of a quality improvement team, etc...
You live and work(ed) in the U.S.

What will happen if I am in this study?

First, you will fill out questions online, either to see if you can be in the study or to confirm your eligibility if we met in-person. We may reach out to set up a time to speak with you by videoconference to clarify your eligibility, answer your questions, and/or potentially schedule an interview. Interviews will occur via video or phone at a time convenient to you.

During the interview, we will ask you questions about:

Your professional role
Your professional perspectives on care of people with dementia in your organization
Recommendations on how to improve care for people impacted by dementia in the future

We may ask you to share documents from your organization specific to dementia care (e.g., brochures or pamphlets). Participation is voluntary and questions can be skipped.

Neither you nor your organization(s) will be named or identifiable in reports we generate, especially those that are publicly accessible.

More information for Organizations Providing Hospice Services

What will happen if my organization participates in this study?

We will schedule a convenient time for study team members to visit your organization for 2-4 days to learn more about how things work
Study team members will observe meetings, either in-person or by videoconference
We will ask someone knowledgeable in your organization to complete a survey about the organization and its practices
We will ask for copies or photographs of materials (such as brochures or pamphlets) related to the care of people with dementia
We will coordinate and invite staff, clinicians, and leaders to participate in interviews
We may ask you to advertise other parts of the study to former caregivers of people with dementia (e.g. through bereavement services)
We will not name or make identifiable the organization or any individual in reports we generate, especially those that are publicly accessible