Perceptions and attitudes about hospice and palliative care among community-dwelling older adults.

It is expected that the American geriatric population will have an increased need for hospice and palliative care services over the next few decades. We surveyed 187 community dwelling older adults about several aspects related to end-of-life (EOL) care. Participants were much more familiar with the term hospice than palliative care. In general, they had positive attitudes towards hospice and palliative care. Although experience caring for a dying relative was common, it wasn't associated with better attitudes towards hospice and palliative care or better familiarity with these terms. Familiarity with the term palliative care was associated with better attitudes towards EOL care. Our findings highlight the need for enhanced end-of-life care education among older adults, and reinforce the need for further research in this area.