Disparities in Palliative and Hospice Care and Completion of Advance Care Planning and Directives Among Non-Hispanic Blacks: A Scoping Review of Recent Literature.

It is a scoping review, so it maps and summarizes studies rather than testing one intervention or estimating how large any effect is. Many included studies are qualitative, single-site, or small, so the findings may not apply to all non-Hispanic Black patients or families. The evidence is not uniform: some studies found no race differences in trust, palliative care consults, or advance care planning knowledge, and some disparities appeared to narrow over time. National surveys often did not collect enough detail about minority adults, cultural values, religion, or provider attitudes. Most interventional studies showed minor or mild impacts, and newer approaches such as video-game or telehealth methods need larger testing.

The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest. The work was supported by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities, and it was commissioned by the California Black Health Network with funding from the California Health Care Foundation.

Do not conclude that non-Hispanic Black patients simply prefer aggressive care or distrust hospice. The review also points to delayed referrals, hospital site, insurance, provider communication, and discrimination, and some studies found no consistent race difference in trust or palliative care consults.