Their article seeks to fill a knowledge gap in both the palliative care and schizophrenia research fields – schizophrenia patients’ usage of palliative care services is virtual unknown. Drs. Chochinov, Martens, Prior and Kredentser compared the rates at which schizophrenia patients entering their last six to 24 months of life had access to palliative care services when compared to those patients without schizophrenia. Their results found that patients with schizophrenia had a greater number of visits and days in nursing homes, more ambulatory visits to general practitioners, and a larger number of visits to psychiatrists. However, they were less likely to visit other specialists, to receive opioid analgesia or to receive palliative care.
To find out more about the study and to read all of Drs. Chochinov, Martens, Prior and Kredenster’s article please visit www.schres-journal.com
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