Palliative care vs hospice care: which statement is correct?

• A. Palliative care continues life-prolonging therapies; Hospice care focuses on comfort.
• B. Hospice care focuses on comfort and symptom management; palliative care may include life-prolonging therapies.
• C. Palliative care is never provided in hospital settings.
• D. Hospice care is identical to palliative care in all therapies.

Answer: (B)

Palliative care is about relief of symptoms and maintaining quality of life at any stage of illness, and it can be provided alongside disease-directed or life-prolonging treatments in any setting, including hospital, home, or clinic. Hospice care is a specific form of palliative care for people with advanced illness who are nearing the end of life, typically focusing on comfort, symptom management, and quality of life, often after choosing to forgo curative or life-prolonging treatments.

This distinction is best captured by the statement that hospice emphasizes comfort and symptom management, while palliative care may include life-prolonging therapies. The other options misrepresent where palliative care can be provided (it can be in hospitals), or imply that hospice and palliative care are identical in all therapies, or that palliative care always continues life-prolonging therapies.