Factors influencing demand and acceptance of hospice care among Chinese older adults: A meta-analysis

This study aimed to systematically integrate existing research findings on relevant factors influencing Chinese older adults to choose hospice care, thus providing targeted theoretical support and a basis for the promotion of hospice care services in China. The literature on factors affecting the older adults' choice of hospice care services were retrieved from nine databases, including PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, The Cochrane Library, CNKI, Wanfang Data, VIP, CBM, and SinoMed. The data were extracted and analyzed using Revman5.3 and Stata17.0. A total of 11 articles are incorporated, and 13 related factors are extracted. The meta-analysis results show that the demand and acceptance of hospice care services in the older adults are related to age (RR = 1.39, 95% CI (1.17,1.65), p = 0.0002), education level (RR = 1.94, 95% CI (1.42,2.63), p < 0.001), marital status (RR = 1.21, 95% CI (1.05,1.40), P = 0.007), death attitude (RR = 1.21, 95% CI (1.53,9.45), p = 0.004), having experienced or witnessed emergency treatment (RR = 2.07, 95% CI (1.51,2.85), p < 0.001), and living condition (RR = 1.32, 95% CI (1.00,1.73), P = 0.05). The elders who are at an advanced age, well educated, unmarried in solitude, and have experienced or witnessed emergency treatment have a high demand and acceptance of hospice care services