End of Life Concerns Hospice Care The 4 Common Myths About Hospice Care By Angela Morrow, RN linkedin Angela Morrow, RN, BSN, CHPN, is a certified hospice and palliative care nurse. Learn about our editorial process Angela Morrow, RN Fact checked by Fact checked by James Lacy on September 27, 2020 linkedin James Lacy, MLS, is a fact checker and researcher. James received a Master of Library Science degree from Dominican University. Learn about our editorial process James Lacy Updated on October 11, 2020 Print Despite continual growth in awareness and access, society still harbors many myths about hospice and the care it provides. These misconceptions contribute to the underutilization of hospice services. This is unfortunate because many patients with life-limiting illnesses could benefit from expert pain and symptom control, as well as the emotional, social, and spiritual support that hospice care can provide. Learn the truth behind four common hospice myths that contribute to the stigma surrounding this form of end-of-life care. Morsa Images / Getty Images Myth: Giving Up Hope Many people mistakenly believe that patients who choose to enter hospice have given up hope, but the truth is that those facing a life-limiting illness or terminal disease have chosen to redefine their hopes. Where a patient once hoped for a cure, they might now hope to live pain-free. For other hospice patients, hope might mean seeing a distant friend or relative one last time or taking a trip to the beach. For still others, hope could be as simple as wanting to spend as much time with loved ones as possible or remaining at home rather than going to the hospital or a nursing home. Hope looks different in hospice care but it is certainly not lost. A hospice caregiving team can help patients accomplish tasks, fulfill wishes, and maintain hope during their remaining time. Hospice Care: Redefining Hope Myth: Hospice Means I Must Sign a DNR A do-not-resuscitate (DNR) order is one of several legal documents people use when establishing their advance healthcare directive. A DNR means that you do not want to be resuscitated via cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) or other means should your breathing cease or your heart stops beating. Signing a DNR is not a requirement to receive hospice care. While many hospice patients elect to have a DNR in place, a DNR is not the right choice for everyone. The goal of hospice is patient comfort with the patient directing their own care. No decisions should ever be forced upon patients, including those in hospice. How to Organize Your End of Life and Advance Directive Documents Myth: Hospice Is Only for Cancer As of 2017, 70% of Medicare hospice care beneficiaries were admitted to hospice with non-cancer primary diagnoses, with only 30% having cancer as their primary diagnosis. Some of the most common non-cancer diagnoses in a hospice in 2017 were heart and circulatory disorders as well as neurological conditions. While hospice case manager nurses and other caregiving professionals are very skilled at managing the symptoms of cancer, they are equally skilled at managing the symptoms of many other forms of chronic illness. Myth: Hospice Is for the Actively Dying In 2017, the median length of service for hospice patients was 24 days. This means that of the estimated 1.5 million patients who received hospice services that year, half received hospice care for less than 24 days, and the other half received it for longer than that. In fact, the average number of days a patient received hospice care in 2017 was 76.1 days. The dying process takes time. Because of the highly skilled care that hospice workers can provide to their patients, hospice proves most effective when the caregiving team has time to deliver it. Patients and their loved ones need support, information. and medical care. Social workers and chaplains need time to work with patients and their families to bring them to a place of acceptance. Nurses and doctors need time to optimally manage the patient's symptoms. Dispelling Hospice Care Myths Removing the stigma surrounding hospice and redefining end-of-life care is essential to the future of healthcare. By 2060, the number of people aged 65 or older in the United States is projected to reach 98.2 million, which will be roughly one in four Americans. That means more people will be living with chronic, life-limiting illnesses and require expert end-of-life care. Dispelling these four hospice myths can help bring us closer to providing high quality, skilled care to all patients who need it at the end of life. Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Sign up for our Health Tip of the Day newsletter, and receive daily tips that will help you live your healthiest life. Sign Up You're in! Thank you, {{form.email}}, for signing up. There was an error. Please try again. What are your concerns? Other Inaccurate Hard to Understand Submit Article Sources Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy. Hospice Foundation of America. Dispelling hospice myths. Shalev A, Phongtankuel V, Kozlov E, Shen MJ, Adelman RD, Reid MC. Awareness and misperceptions of hospice and palliative care: A population-based survey study. Am J Hosp Palliat Care. 2018;35(3):431-439. doi:10.1177/1049909117715215 Shih TC, Chang HT, Lin MH, Chen CK, Chen TJ, Hwang SJ. Trends of do-not-resuscitate orders, hospice care utilization, and late referral to hospice care among cancer decedents in a tertiary hospital in Taiwan between 2008 and 2014: A hospital-based observational study. J Palliat Med. 2017;20(8):838-844. doi:10.1089/jpm.2016.0362 Kumar G, Markert RJ, Patel R. Assessment of hospice patients' goals of care at the end of life. Am J Hosp Palliat Care. 2011;28(1):31-4. doi:10.1177/1049909110371469 National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization. NHPCO Facts and Figures 2018 Edition. Updated July 2, 2019. NHPCO. NHPCO Facts and Figures. 2018 Edition. Updated July 2, 2019. United States Census Bureau. Facts for features: older Americans month: May 2017. Updated April 10, 2017.