{"id":148359,"date":"2025-07-29T13:00:45","date_gmt":"2025-07-29T17:00:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/148359///news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/148359//www.ucf.edu/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/148359//news/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/148359//?p=148359"},"modified":"2025-07-29T12:22:34","modified_gmt":"2025-07-29T16:22:34","slug":"ucf-professor-seeks-to-improve-end-of-life-care-for-dementia-patients-with-data-tool","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/148359///news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/148359//www.ucf.edu/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/148359//news/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/148359//ucf-professor-seeks-to-improve-end-of-life-care-for-dementia-patients-with-data-tool/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/148359//","title":{"rendered":"UCF Professor Seeks to Improve End-of-Life Care for Dementia Patients With Data Tool"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dementia not only affects cognitive and functional abilities, but it/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/148359/u2019s also among the country/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/148359/u2019s leading causes of death. When dementia patients are not transitioned into end-of-life care in a timely manner, the delay can cause unnecessary pain, distress and confusion for both them and their loved ones /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/148359/u2014 an issue Latarsha Chisholm works to help alleviate./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/148359/n

Challenges With Quality of Care/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/148359/n

Chisholm, an associate professor in the College of Community Innovation and Education/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/148359/u2019s School of Global Health Management and Informatics, studies nursing home residents living with advanced dementia. She says many facilities struggle to identify the right end-of-life-care transition time due to lack of resources caused by differences in reimbursement./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/148359/n

/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/148359/u201cThe way nursing homes are reimbursed creates a two-tiered system,/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/148359/u201d Chisholm says. /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/148359/u201cYou have nursing homes paid for privately or through Medicare, where the reimbursement is higher, and nursing homes with mostly Medicaid residents, where the reimbursement is lower. When you have this difference in reimbursements, you have differences in resources available to facilities, which creates imbalances in quality of care./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/148359/u201d/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/148359/n

But there/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/148359/u2019s also another issue at hand /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/148359/u2014 a lack of discussions taking place about hospice options. Chisholm says these conversations can be challenging for patients, families and nursing home staff alike./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/148359/n

/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/148359/u201cWe don/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/148359/u2019t like to talk about death, even though it/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/148359/u2019s going to happen to all of us,/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/148359/u201d Chisholm says. /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/148359/u201cStaff may not feel knowledgeable enough to have these discussions, and patients and their families may have /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/148359/u2026 religious [beliefs or perspectives based on their backgrounds] that make them uncomfortable with the subject./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/148359/u201d/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/148359/n

While these conversations may be difficult, they are important. Chisholm says patients who never express their wishes for end-of-life care leave those big decisions to their families and care providers./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/148359/n

/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/148359/u201cMany patients with advanced dementia can no longer speak for themselves, and family members are usually proxies to discuss their care needs,/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/148359/u201d Chisholm says. /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/148359/u201cWhen you/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/148359/u2019re no longer able to speak for yourself and you haven/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/148359/u2019t expressed your wishes, your family can only assume what you want. You could end up receiving unnecessary care that neither improves your quality of life nor helps you live longer./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/148359/u201d/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/148359/n