• Muhammad Abbas, Isaac S Chua, Masami Tabata-Kelly, Amy L Bulger, Esteban Gershanik, Christina Sheu, Emma Kerr, Mengyuan Ruan, Tanujit Dey, Joshua R Lakin, and Rachelle E Bernacki.
• Department of General Surgery(M.A.), Rabin Medical Centre, Beilinson Hospital, Petah Tikva, Israel.
• J Pain Symptom Manage. 2024 Sep 1; 68 (3): 205213.e6205-213.e6.

ContextThe COVID-19 pandemic disproportionately impacted non-Hispanic Black and Hispanic patients. However, little is known about the quality of serious illness communication in these communities during this time.ObjectiveWe aimed to determine whether racial and ethnic disparities manifested in serious illness conversations during the pandemic.MethodsThis was a retrospective, observational, cohort study of adult patients with a documented serious illness conversation from March 2020 to April 2021. Serious illness conversation documentation quality was assessed by counting the median number (IQR) of conversation domains and their elements included in the documentation. Domains included (1) values and goals, (2) prognosis and illness understanding, (3) end-of-life care planning, and (4) life-sustaining treatment preferences. A multivariable ordinal logistic regression analysis was conducted to assess associations between differences in serious illness documentation quality with patient race and ethnicity.ResultsAmong 291 patients, 149 (51.2%) were non-Hispanic White; 81 (27.8%) were non-Hispanic Black; and 61 (21.0%) were Hispanic patients. Non-Hispanic Black patients were associated with fewer domains (OR 0.46 [95% CI 0.25, 0.84]; P=.01) included in their serious illness conversation documentation compared to non-Hispanic White patients. Both non-Hispanic Black (OR 0.35 [95% CI 0.20, 0.62]; P<.001) and Hispanic patients (OR 0.29 [95% CI 0.14, 0.58]; P<.001) were associated with fewer elements in the values and goals domain compared to non-Hispanic White patients in their serious illness documentation.ConclusionDuring the COVID-19 pandemic, serious illness conversation documentation among non-Hispanic Black and Hispanic patients was less comprehensive compared to non-Hispanic White patients.Copyright © 2024 American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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