A Look at End-of-Life Care Issues for Native Americans

More than 4 million people in the United States identify themselves as either American Indian or Alaska Native (AI/AN), a diverse group of people who come from more than 500 tribes. Access to quality health care by AI/AN is often compromised by poverty, lack of health insurance, and the fact that many live in isolated regions. Although as a group, AI/AN have a lower incidence of most types of cancer than non-Hispanic white Americans, they are more likely to be diagnosed with late-stage disease, and their cancer survival is generally poorer than that of other groups. Yet despite this burden, their access to palliative care, hospice, and end-of-life services lags behind the rest of the nation.

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