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Goal: To provide information about the multiple barriers to referral to hospice care for patients with ESRD who are at the end of life.

Objectives:

Discuss the process by which health care professional disciplines were evaluated on their knowledge of hospice referral for patients with ESRD.
Explain the causes of knowledge deficit of hospice referral based on renal discipline, regional variations, and racial disparities.
Outline specific recommendations of increasing the knowledge of hospice referral in healthcare professionals, patients, and their families.

Disclosure Statement: The authors reported no actual or potential conflict of interest in relation to this continuing nursing education article.

Kimberly F. Thompson

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