Trajectories to seeking demedicalised assistance in suicide: a qualitative in-depth interview study

BACKGROUND

In the Netherlands, people can receive (limited) demedicalised assistance in suicide (DAS)-an option less well known than physician-assisted dying (PAD).

AIM

This study explores which trajectories people take to seek DAS, through open-coding and inductive analysis of in-depth interviews with 17 people who receive(d) DAS from counsellors facilitated by foundation De Einder.

RESULTS

People sought DAS as a result of current suffering or as a result of anticipating possible prospective suffering. People with current suffering were unable or assumed they would be unable to obtain PAD. For people anticipating possible prospective suffering, we distinguished two trajectories. In one trajectory, people preferred PAD but were not reassured of help by the physician in due time and sought DAS as a backup plan. In the other trajectory, people expressed a preference for DAS mainly as a result of emphasising self-determination, independence, taking their own responsibility and preparing suicide carefully. In all trajectories, dissatisfaction with physician-patient communication-for instance about (a denied request for) PAD or fearing to discuss this-influenced the decision to seek DAS.

CONCLUSIONS

While PAD is the preferred option of people in two trajectories, obtaining PAD is uncertain and not always possible. Dissatisfaction with physician-patient communication can result in the physician not being involved in DAS, being unable to diagnose diseases and offer treatment nor offer reassurance that people seem to seek. We plea for more mutual understanding, respect and empathy for the limitations and possibilities of the position of the physician and the patient in discussing assistance in dying.

Appropriateness and avoidability of terminal hospital admissions: Results of a survey among family physicians

BACKGROUND

Although the acute hospital setting is not considered to be an ideal place of death, many people are admitted to hospital at the end of life.

AIM

To examine what proportion of terminal hospital admissions among their patients family physicians consider to have been avoidable and/or inappropriate; which patient, family physician and admission factors are associated with the perceived inappropriateness or avoidability of terminal hospital admissions; and which interventions could have prevented them, from the perspective of family physicians.

DESIGN

Survey among family physicians, linked to medical record data.

SETTING

Patients who had died non-suddenly in the acute hospital setting of a university hospital in Belgium between January and August 2014.

RESULTS

We received 245 completed questionnaires (response rate 70%) and 77% of those hospital deaths ( n = 189) were considered to be non-sudden. Almost 14% of all terminal hospital admissions were considered to be potentially inappropriate, almost 14% potentially avoidable and 8% both, according to family physicians. The terminal hospital admission was more likely to be considered potentially inappropriate or potentially avoidable for patients who had died of cancer, when the patient's life expectancy at the time of admission was limited, by family physicians who had had palliative care training at basic, postgraduate or post-academic level, and when the admission was initiated by the patient, partner or other family.

CONCLUSION

Timely communication with the patient about their limited life expectancy and the provision of better support to family caregivers may be important strategies in reducing the number of hospital deaths.

Relating cause of death with place of care and healthcare costs in the last year of life for patients who died from cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, heart failure and dementia: A descriptive study using registry data

BACKGROUND

The four main diagnostic groups for palliative care provision are cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, heart failure and dementia. But comparisons of costs and care in the last year of life are mainly directed at cancer versus non-cancer or within cancer patients.

AIM

Our aim is to compare the care and expenditures in their last year of life for Dutch patients with cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, heart failure or dementia.

DESIGN

Data from insurance company Achmea (2009-2010) were linked to information on long-term care at home or in an institution, the National Hospital Registration and Causes of Death-Registry from Statistics Netherlands. For patients who died of cancer ( n = 8658), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease ( n = 1637), heart failure ( n = 1505) or dementia ( n = 3586), frequencies and means were calculated, Lorenz curves were drawn up and logistic regression was used to compare patients with high versus low expenditures.

RESULTS

For decedents with cancer and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, the highest costs were for hospital admissions. For decedents with heart failure, the highest costs were for the care home (last 360 days) and hospital admissions (last 30 days). For decedents with dementia, the highest costs were for the nursing home.

CONCLUSION

Patients with dementia had the highest expenditures due to nursing home care. The number of dementia patients will double by the year 2030, resulting in even higher economic burdens than presently. Policy regarding patients with chronic conditions should be informed by research on expenditures within the context of preferences and needs of patients and carers.

"Keep All Thee 'Til the End": Reclaiming the Lifeworld for Patients in the Hospice Setting

St Christopher's Hospice, London, was founded to provide specialist care to the incurably ill. We studied the dimensions of difference that set St Christopher's Hospice apart from hospital care of the dying, focusing on physical space and social organization. Material from 1953 to 1980 from the Cicely Saunders Archive was analyzed qualitatively. Through thematic analysis, quotes were found and analyzed using open coding. Five themes were developed. Themes identified were home/homelike, community, consideration of others, link with outside world, and privacy. The hospice philosophy functioned as the catalyst for the development of the physical environment of St Christopher's Hospice. Taking Habermas' concept of lifeworld, it seems that, in contrast to acute care, the need for hospice to formulate their own lifeworld to support and fully engage patients was central. As lifeworlds are culture sensitive, this underlines the need for variation in design and organization of hospices around the world.

[Appropriate care in the last phase of life]

OBJECTIVE

To identify the types of care that patients and relatives perceive as appropriate or inappropriate in the last phase of life.

DESIGN

Questionnaire survey.

METHOD

By means of an internet questionnaire with open questions, we asked patients and relatives about their experiences of care in the last phase of life and if they found it appropriate or inappropriate, and why. We recruited via e-mails, Twitter, Facebook, newsletters and links on homepages of patient organisations. Members of a Dutch large organisation for older people (Unie KBO) received the questionnaire on paper.

RESULTS

Forty-five patients and 547 relatives described received one or more cases. We found 429 cases of appropriate care and 309 different cases of inappropriate care. We identified five common dimensions of appropriate and inappropriate care, i.e., supportive care, treatment decisions, location of care, following the patient's wishes and communication. In the cases of appropriate care, all five dimensions were regularly mentioned; supportive care being most-frequently mentioned. In cases of inappropriate care, the dimensions treatment decisions, supportive care and communication were most often mentioned. Descriptions of appropriate care more frequently concerned patients with cancer, and descriptions of inappropriate care more frequently concerned patients with other somatic conditions or psychiatric conditions. Nurses or carers and general practitioners were more often mentioned in descriptions of appropriate care, and medical specialists more often mentioned in descriptions of inappropriate care.

CONCLUSION

Appropriate care appears to be a wide-ranging term covering supportive care, treatment decisions, communication, following the patient's wishes, and the location where care is provided. Inappropriate treatment decisions and communication problems are the main threats to appropriate care in the last phase of life.

Interprofessional communication between oncologic specialists and general practitioners on end-of-life issues needs improvement

BACKGROUND

Timely end-of-life (EOL) discussions between patients and physicians are considered essential for high-quality EOL care, but research shows that these discussions frequently do not occur or occur late. In oncology, one barrier for timely EOL discussions is poor collaboration between oncologic specialists and GPs.

OBJECTIVE

To explore interprofessional communication and coordination between oncologic specialists and GPs on EOL discussions.

METHODS

We conducted in-depth interviews with 16 GPs and 14 oncologic specialists. Interviews were recorded, transcribed verbatim and analysed using qualitative content analysis.

RESULTS

EOL discussions were primarily considered the role of the GP, but oncologists' perceptions of their own roles in discussing EOL issues varied. Interprofessional coordination on who discusses what and when was mostly absent. Interprofessional communication of EOL issues usually proceeded using the patient as intermediary. This functioned well but only if three essential conditions were met: the specialist being realistic to patients about limits of treatment, informing the GP adequately and the GP being proactive in initiating EOL issues in time. However, when these conditions were absent, timely EOL discussions did not seem to occur.

CONCLUSIONS

EOL discussions are rarely a subject of direct interprofessional communication and mainly proceed through the patient as intermediary. For implementation of EOL discussions into regular care, earlier interprofessional communication and coordination is needed, particularly if barriers for such discussions occur.

Advance Care Planning in Glioblastoma Patients

Despite multimodal treatment with surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy, glioblastoma is an incurable disease with a poor prognosis. During the disease course, glioblastoma patients may experience progressive neurological deficits, symptoms of increased intracranial pressure such as drowsiness and headache, incontinence, seizures and progressive cognitive dysfunction. These patients not only have cancer, but also a progressive brain disease. This may seriously interfere with their ability to make their own decisions regarding treatment. It is therefore warranted to involve glioblastoma patients early in the disease trajectory in treatment decision-making on their future care, including the end of life (EOL) care, which can be achieved with Advance Care Planning (ACP). Although ACP, by definition, aims at timely involvement of patients and proxies in decision-making on future care, the optimal moment to initiate ACP discussions in the disease trajectory of glioblastoma patients remains controversial. Moreover, the disease-specific content of these ACP discussions needs to be established. In this article, we will first describe the history of patient participation in treatment decision-making, including the shift towards ACP. Secondly, we will describe the possible role of ACP for glioblastoma patients, with the specific aim of treatment of disease-specific symptoms such as somnolence and dysphagia, epileptic seizures, headache, and personality changes, agitation and delirium in the EOL phase, and the importance of timing of ACP discussions in this patient population.

Palliative care in mental health facilities from the perspective of nurses: a mixed-methods study

WHAT IS KNOWN ON THE SUBJECT?: Nurses play an important role in monitoring and supporting patients and their relatives at the end of life. To date, there is a lack of recent empirical research on the experiences of psychiatric nurses in providing palliative care to psychiatric patients who suffer from life-threatening physical co-morbidity. The limited literature available indicates that palliative care for psychiatric patients needs to be improved. WHAT THIS PAPER ADDS TO EXISTING KNOWLEDGE?: This explorative study is unique in offering an insight into current palliative care practice for psychiatric patients and showed that one in three nurses working in Dutch mental health facilities is involved in palliative care provision. Important elements of palliative care, i.e.: care domains, multidisciplinary approach, early recognition and family care are recognized by nurses. Moreover, in palliative care for psychiatric patients there is more attention for psychosocial and spiritual care compared to palliative care for patients without psychiatric disorders. Patient characteristics and little attention for palliative care within mental health facilities were found to hamper timely and adequate palliative care provision by nurses. WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR RESEARCH AND PRACTICE?: Educating psychiatric nurses about palliative care and close collaboration between physical and mental health care are crucial to address the palliative care needs of this vulnerable patient group. Since mental health care is increasingly provided ambulatory, the development of palliative care for psychiatric patients outside mental health facilities should be closely monitored.

ABSTRACT

Introduction Recent empirical research on palliative care for psychiatric patients is lacking. Aim The aim of this study was to explore nurses' experiences with and identify barriers to providing palliative care to psychiatric patients in Dutch mental health facilities. Methods Mixed-methods; 137 nurses working in Dutch mental health facilities completed a survey. Nine participated in in-depth interviews. Results Thirty-six percent of nurses had experience with providing palliative care to psychiatric patients with physical co-morbidity in the past 2 years. Of all patients, 63% received physical care before death, 46% psychosocial care and 33% spiritual care. In 91% of all cases, care was provided by multidisciplinary teams. Patient characteristics and little attention to palliative care were barriers for timely and adequate palliative care. Discussion In palliative care for psychiatric patients, there is more attention for psychosocial and spiritual care compared to palliative care for patients without psychiatric disorders. Yet there are barriers to adequate palliative care provision. Implications for practice Educating psychiatric nurses about palliative care and close collaboration between physical and mental health care are crucial to address the palliative care needs of psychiatric patients. Since mental health care is increasingly provided ambulatory, palliative care for psychiatric patients outside mental health facilities should be closely monitored.

Effects of eHealth for patients and informal caregivers confronted with cancer: A meta-review

BACKGROUND

eHealth can be defined as information provision about illness or health care and/or support for patients and/or informal caregivers, using the computer or related technologies. eHealth interventions are increasingly being used in cancer care, e.g. to support patients and informal caregivers in managing symptoms and problems in daily life.

OBJECTIVES

To synthesize evidence from systematic reviews on the effects of eHealth for cancer patients or their informal caregivers.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A systematic meta-review, in the sense of a systematic review of reviews, was conducted. Searches were performed in PubMed, Embase, CINAHL, PsycINFO, and the Cochrane Library. All steps in the review process were either performed by two reviewers independently or checked by a second reviewer. Disagreements were resolved by consensus.

RESULTS

Ten systematic reviews were included. All reviews focused on the effects of eHealth for patients and none on effects for informal caregivers. Except for one review of high methodological quality, all reviews were of moderate methodological quality. Evidence was found for effects on perceived support, knowledge levels, and information competence of cancer patients. Indications of evidence were found for health status and healthcare participation. Findings were inconsistent for outcomes related to decision-making, psychological wellbeing, depression and anxiety, and quality of life. No evidence was found for effects on physical and functional wellbeing.

CONCLUSION

There is evidence for positive effects of eHealth on perceived support, knowledge, and information competence of cancer patients. For effects on other outcomes in cancer patients, findings are mainly inconsistent or lacking. This meta-review did not find relevant reviews focusing on or including the effects of eHealth on informal caregivers, which seems a rather unexplored area.

Challenges in shared decision making in advanced cancer care: a qualitative longitudinal observational and interview study

Background

Patients' preferences and expectations should be taken into account in treatment decision making in the last phase of life. Shared decision making (SDM) is regarded as a way to give the patient a central role in decision making. Little is known about how SDM is used in clinical practice in advanced cancer care.

Objective

To examine whether and how the steps of SDM can be recognized in decision making about second‐ and third‐line chemotherapy.

Methods

Fourteen advanced cancer patients were followed over time using face‐to‐face in‐depth interviews and observations of the patients' out‐clinic visits. Interviews and outpatient clinic visits in which treatment options were discussed or decisions made were transcribed verbatim and analysed using open coding.

Results

Patients were satisfied with the decision‐making process, but the steps of SDM were barely seen in daily practice. The creation of awareness about available treatment options by physicians was limited and not discussed in an equal way. Patients' wishes and concerns were not explicitly assessed, which led to different expectations about improved survival from subsequent lines of chemotherapy.

Conclusion

To reach SDM in daily practice, physicians should create awareness of all treatment options, including forgoing treatment, and communicate the risk of benefit and harm. Open and honest communication is needed in which patients' expectations and concerns are discussed. Through this, the difficult process of decision making in the last phase of life can be facilitated and the focus on the best care for the specific patient is strengthened.

Mechanisms that contribute to the tendency to continue chemotherapy in patients with advanced cancer. Qualitative observations in the clinical setting

Purpose

The study aims to describe mechanisms that contribute to the tendency towards continuing chemotherapy in patients with advanced cancer.

Methods

The study conducted qualitative observations of outpatient clinic visits of 28 patients with advanced cancer (glioblastoma and metastatic colorectal cancer).

Results

We uncovered four mechanisms in daily oncology practice that can contribute to the tendency towards continuing chemotherapy in patients with advanced cancer: (1) “presenting the full therapy sets the standard”—patients seemed to base their justification for continuing chemotherapy on the “standard” therapy with the maximum number of cycles as presented by the physician at the start of the treatment; (2) “focus on standard evaluation moments hampers evaluation of care goals”—whether or not to continue the treatment was mostly only considered at standard evaluation moments; (3) “opening question guides towards focus on symptoms”—most patients gave an update of their physical symptoms in answer to the opening question of “How are you doing?” Physicians consequently discussed how to deal with this at length, which often took up most of the visit; (4) “treatment is perceived as the only option”—patients mostly wanted to continue with chemotherapy because they felt that they had to try every available option the physician offered. Physicians also often seemed to focus on treatment as the only option.

Conclusion

Discussing care goals more regularly with the patient, facilitated for instance by implementing early palliative care, might help counter the mechanisms and enable a more well-considered decision. This could be either stopping or continuing chemotherapy.

Perspectives of Medical Specialists on Sharing Decisions in Cancer Care: A Qualitative Study Concerning Chemotherapy Decisions With Patients With Recurrent Glioblastoma

BACKGROUND

In cancer care, difficult decisions concerning advanced treatment need to be made, weighing possible life prolongation against harmful side effects. Treatment is frequently started, showing the need to explore how decisions are made. Little is known about the perspectives of physicians on sharing decision making with patients. This qualitative study aimed to describe the perspectives of medical specialists on the decision-making process with patients with glioblastoma concerning starting new treatment.

METHODS

Qualitative interviews were held with medical specialists. One focus group was organized with medical professionals. Their opinions about elements of shared decision making and the applicability in the context of patients with glioblastoma were assessed. The topic list for the focus group was based on the analysis of the interviews. Qualitative analysis of the transcripts was performed by three researchers independently.

RESULTS

Medical specialists considered shared decision making to be important; however, they did not adhere to its elements. Stopping treatment was not considered equal to continuing treatment. Exploration of the patients' wishes was done implicitly, and shared responsibility for the decision was not highly recognized. The main barriers to shared decision making were preferences of both patients and specialists for starting or continuing treatment and assumptions of physicians about knowing what patients want.

CONCLUSION

Medical specialists recognized the importance of patient involvement but experienced difficulty in sharing decision making in practice. Elements of shared decision making are partly followed but do not guide decision making. To improve cancer care, education of medical specialists and adjustment to the elements are needed to involve patients.

Continuing or forgoing treatment at the end of life? Preferences of the general public and people with an advance directive

BACKGROUND

We studied preferences on continuing or forgoing different types of treatments at the end of life in two groups: the general public and people with an advance directive (AD). Furthermore, we studied factors associated with these preferences and whether people's preferences concurred with the content of their AD.

METHODS

A representative sample of the Dutch population (n=1402) and a cohort of people who own an AD, consisting of members of Right to Die-NL (NVVE, n=5661) and the Christian-orientated Nederlandse Patiënten Vereniging (NPV, n=1059), answered written questionnaires in 2005 or 2007. We used two hypothetical scenarios, about cancer and dementia, and asked questions about continuing or forgoing four medical treatments.

RESULTS

A majority of the Dutch public (62-87%) and NVVE members (88-99%) wanted to forgo the different treatments in both scenarios, while members of the NPV generally wanted to continue treatment (46-73%). In all three groups, in both scenarios, a substantial group (13-38%) had different preferences for the different treatments. People were more explicit in their preferences in case of dementia than in case of cancer. Being female, over 55 years of age, having had a higher education and having no (significant) religion increased the odds to refuse treatment. ADs that gave the direction to refuse treatment generally concurred with the preference of their owners (85-98% wanting to refuse treatments).

DISCUSSION

The fact that people with and without ADs have different preferences concerning different treatments and diseases stresses the importance of communication surrounding decision making at the end of life.

How could hospitalisations at the end of life have been avoided? A qualitative retrospective study of the perspectives of general practitioners, nurses and family carers

Background

Although many patients prefer to stay and die at home at the end of life, many are hospitalised. Little is known about how to avoid hospitalisations for patients living at home.

Aim

To describe how hospitalisation at the end of life can be avoided, from the perspective of the GPs, nurses and family carers.

Method

A qualitative design with face-to-face interviews was used. Taking 30 cases of patients who died non-suddenly, 26 GPs, 15 nurses and 18 family carers were interviewed in depth. Of the 30 patients, 20 were hospitalised and 10 were not hospitalised in the last three months of life.

Results

Five key themes that could help avoid hospitalisation at the end of life emerged from the interviews. The key themes were: 1) marking the approach of death, and shifting the mindset; 2) being able to provide acute treatment and care at home; 3) anticipatory discussions and interventions to deal with expected severe problems; 4) guiding and monitoring the patient and family in a holistic way through the illness trajectory; 5) continuity of treatment and care at home. If these five key themes are adopted in an interrelated way, this could help avoid hospitalisations, according to GPs, nurses and family carers.

Conclusions

The five key themes described in this study can be seen as strategies that could help in avoiding hospitalisation at the end of life. It is recommended that for all patients residing at home, GPs and community nurses work together as a team from the moment that it is marked that death is approaching up to the end of life.

Cross-sectional research into counselling for non-physician assisted suicide: who asks for it and what happens?

Background

In the Netherlands, people with a wish to die can request physician assistance in dying. However, almost two thirds of the explicit requests do not result in physician assistance in dying. Some people with a wish to end life seek counselling outside the medical context to end their own life. The aim of this cross-sectional research was to obtain information about clients receiving counselling for non-physician assisted suicide, and the characteristics and outcome of the counselling itself.

Methods

All counsellors working with foundation De Einder (an organisation that offers professional counselling for people with a wish to end life) (N=12) filled in registration forms about all clients they counselled in 2011 and/or 2012. Only client registration data forms with at least one face-to-face contact with the counsellor were selected for analysis (n=595).

Results

More than half of the clients were over 65 years old. More than one third of the clients had no wish to end life and 16% had an urgent wish to end life. Almost two thirds of the clients had not requested physician assistance in dying. Half of the clients had others involved in the counselling. More than half of the clients received explicit practical information concerning non-physician assisted suicide, while 13% of all clients actually ended their own life through non-physician assisted suicide. Clients without a (severe) disease were older than clients with a severe disease. They also had more problems of old age and existential suffering and more often wanted to be prepared for self-determination. The clients without a (severe) disease more often had no wish to end life and requested physician assistance in dying less often than clients with a severe disease.

Conclusion

While some of the clients receiving counselling for non-physician assisted suicide seem to be looking for a peaceful death to escape from current suffering, others have no wish to end life and seem to be looking for reassurance in anticipation of prospective suffering. If non-physician assisted suicide is be distinguished from ‘mutilating’ suicide, this asks for a different approach than suicide crisis intervention, for example suicide-attempt prevention.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/1472-6963-14-455) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

End-of-life care in general practice: A cross-sectional, retrospective survey of 'cancer', 'organ failure' and 'old-age/dementia' patients

BACKGROUND

End-of-life care is often provided in primary care settings.

AIM

To describe and compare general-practitioner end-of-life care for Dutch patients who died from 'cancer', 'organ failure' and 'old-age or dementia'.

DESIGN

A cross-sectional, retrospective survey was conducted within a sentinel network of general practitioners. General practitioners recorded the end-of-life care of all patients who died (1 January 2009 to 31 December 2011). Differences in care between patient groups were analysed using multivariate logistic regressions performed with generalised linear mixed models.

SETTING/PARTICIPANTS

Up to 63 general practitioners, covering 0.8% of the population, recorded the care of 1491 patients.

RESULTS

General practitioners personally provided palliative care for 75% of cancer, 38% of organ failure and 64% of old-age/dementia patients (adjusted odds ratio (confidence interval): cancer (reference category); organ failure: 0.28 (0.17, 0.47); old-age/dementia: 0.31 (0.15, 0.63)). In the week before death, 89% of cancer, 77% of organ failure and 86% of old-age/dementia patients received palliative treatments: (adjusted odds ratio (confidence interval): cancer (reference category); old-age/dementia: 0.54 (0.29, 1.00); organ failure: 0.38 (0.16, 0.92)). Options for palliative care were discussed with 81% of cancer, 44% of organ failure and 39% of old-age/dementia patients (adjusted odds ratio (confidence interval): cancer (reference category); old-age/dementia: 0.34 (0.21, 0.57); organ failure: 0.17 (0.08, 0.36)).

CONCLUSION

The results highlight the need to integrate palliative care with optimal disease management in primary practice and to initiate advance care planning early in the chronic disease trajectory to enable all patients to live as well as possible with progressive illness and die with dignity and comfort.

General practitioners' perspectives on the avoidability of hospitalizations at the end of life: A mixed-method study

BACKGROUND

Many patients are hospitalized in the last months of life. Little is known about the avoidability of these hospitalizations.

AIM

To explore whether and how hospitalizations could have been avoided in the last 3 months of life and barriers to avoid this, according to general practitioners in the Netherlands.

DESIGN

Sequential mixed-method design, starting with a cross-sectional nationwide questionnaire study among general practitioners, followed by in-depth interviews.

SETTING/PARTICIPANTS

General practitioners were asked about their most recent patient who died non-suddenly and who was hospitalized in the last 3 months of life. Additionally, 18 of these general practitioners were interviewed in depth about the situation surrounding hospitalization.

RESULTS

According to 24% of 319 general practitioners, the last hospitalization in the final 3 months of their patient's life could have been avoided. Of all avoidable hospitalizations, 46% could have been avoided by proactive communication with the patient, 36% by more communication between professionals around hospitalization, 28% by additional care and treatment at home, and 10% by patient and family support. In the in-depth interviews, general practitioners confirmed the aforementioned strategies, but also mentioned various barriers in daily practice, such as the timing of proactive communication with the patient, incompleteness of information transfer in acute situations, and the lack of awareness among patients and family that death was near.

CONCLUSION

A proactive approach could avoid some of the hospitalizations at the end of life, in the opinion of general practitioners. More insight is needed into communication and psychological barriers for timely discussions about end-of-life issues.

Patients' preferences for participation in treatment decision-making at the end of life: qualitative interviews with advanced cancer patients

PURPOSE

Patients are often encouraged to participate in treatment decision-making. Most studies on this subject focus on choosing between different curative treatment types. In the last phase of life treatment decisions differ as they often put more emphasis on weighing quantity against quality of life, such as whether or not to start treatment aimed at life prolongation but with the possibility of side effects. This study aimed to obtain insight into cancer patients' preferences and the reasons for patients' preferred role in treatment decision-making at the end of life.

METHODS

28 advanced cancer patients were included at the start of their first line treatment. In-depth interviews were held prior to upcoming treatment decisions whether or not to start a life prolonging treatment. The Control Preference Scale was used to start discussing the extent and type of influence patients wanted to have concerning upcoming treatment decision-making. Interviews were audio taped and transcribed.

RESULTS

All patients wanted their physician to participate in the treatment decision-making process. The extent to which patients themselves preferred to participate seemed to depend on how patients saw their own role or assessed their own capabilities for participating in treatment decision-making. Patients foresaw a shift in the preferred level of participation to a more active role depending in the later phase of illness when life prolongation would become more limited and quality of life would become more important.

CONCLUSION

Patients vary in how much involvement they would like to have in upcoming treatment decision-making. Individual patients' preferences may change in the course of the illness, with a shift to more active participation in the later phases. Communication about patients' expectations, wishes and preferences for participation in upcoming treatment decisions is of great importance. An approach in which these topics are openly discussed would be beneficial.

Motivations, aims and communication around advance directives: a mixed-methods study into the perspective of their owners and the influence of a current illness

OBJECTIVE

What are motivations of owners of an advance directive (AD) to draft an AD, what do they aim for with their AD and do they communicate about their AD?

METHODS

Written questionnaires were sent to a cohort of people owning different types of ADs (n=5768). A purposive sample of people suffering from an illness was selected from the cohort for an in-depth interview (n=29).

RESULTS

About half of our population had no direct motivation to draft their AD. Most mentioned motivation for the other half was an illness of a family member or friend. Many different and specific aims for drafting an AD were mentioned. An often mentioned more general aim in people with different ADs was to prevent unnecessary lengthening of life or treatment (14-16%). Most respondents communicated about having an AD with close-ones (63-88%) and with their GP (65-79%). In the interviews people gave vivid examples of experiences of what they hoped to prevent at the end of life. Some mentioned difficulties foreseeing the future and gave examples of response shift.

CONCLUSION

ADs can give directions to caregivers about what people want at the end of life.

PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS

ADs have to be discussed in detail by their owners and caregivers, since owners often have specific aims with their AD.

Congruence between patients' preferred and perceived participation in medical decision-making: a review of the literature

Background

Patients are increasingly expected and asked to be involved in health care decisions. In this decision-making process, preferences for participation are important. In this systematic review we aim to provide an overview the literature related to the congruence between patients’ preferences and their perceived participation in medical decision-making. We also explore the direction of mismatched and outline factors associated with congruence.

Methods

A systematic review was performed on patient participation in medical decision-making. Medline, PsycINFO, CINAHL, EMBASE and the Cochrane Library databases up to September 2012, were searched and all studies were rigorously critically appraised. In total 44 papers were included, they sampled contained 52 different patient samples.

Results

Mean of congruence between preference for and perceived participation in decision-making was 60% (49 and 70 representing 25^th and 75^th percentiles). If no congruence was found, of 36 patient samples most patients preferred more involvement and of 9 patient samples most patients preferred less involvement. Factors associated with preferences the most investigated were age and educational level. Younger patients preferred more often an active or shared role as did higher educated patients.

Conclusion

This review suggests that a similar approach to all patients is not likely to meet patients’ wishes, since preferences for participation vary among patients. Health care professionals should be sensitive to patients individual preferences and communicate about patients’ participation wishes on a regular basis during their illness trajectory.

Burden for family carers at the end of life; a mixed-method study of the perspectives of family carers and GPs

Background

Since many patients spend most of the time at home at the end of life, this may affect the burden for family carers and constitute a risk factor for the patients’ hospitalisation. This study aimed to explore family carers’ burden in the final three months of the patient’s life, from the perspective of both carers and general practitioners (GPs), and to assess whether family burden, as defined by the GP, is associated with hospitalisation.

Methods

A cross-sectional nationwide survey among GPs and family carers was performed. Participants were 194 GPs and 74 family carers of patients who died non-suddenly. Additionally, in-depth interviews were conducted with 18 family carers. For the quantitative analyses descriptive statistics, weighted Kappa and multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed. For the qualitative part thematic analysis was conducted.

Results

The proportion of family carers experiencing a fairly heavy or severe burden increased significantly from 32% (second and third months before death) to 66% (one week before death). Most carers (95%) felt an emotional burden and 29% felt a physical burden in the final week. Three-quarters of carers did not perceive their burden as a problem because caring often felt rewarding. No significant association was found between the characteristics of family caregivers or professional care and the degree of family caregiver burden. Also, there was no significant evidence that patients of family carers for whom the GP assessed a fairly heavy to severe burden, were more likely to be hospitalised.

Conclusions

The different overall assessment of family carers’ burden between GPs and family carers and the increasing emotional and physical burden of family carers towards the end constitute relevant information for GPs that will help them understand and anticipate carers’ personal needs.

Assessing the validity and intra-observer agreement of the MIDAM-LTC; an instrument measuring factors that influence personal dignity in long-term care facilities

Background

Patients who are cared for in long-term care facilities are vulnerable to lose personal dignity. An instrument measuring factors that influence dignity can be used to better target dignity-conserving care to an individual patient, but no such instrument is yet available for the long-term care setting. The aim of this study was to create the Measurement Instrument for Dignity AMsterdam - for Long-Term Care facilities (MIDAM-LTC) and to assess its validity and intra-observer agreement.

Methods

Thirteen items specific for the LTC setting were added to the earlier developed, more general MIDAM. The MIDAM-LTC consisted of 39 symptoms or experiences for which presence as well as influence on dignity were asked, and a single item score for overall personal dignity. Questionnaires containing the MIDAM-LTC were administered face-to-face at two moments (with a 1-week interval) to 95 nursing home residents residing on general medical wards of six nursing homes in the Netherlands. Constructs related to dignity (WHO Well-Being Five Index, quality of life and physical health status) were also measured. Ten residents answered the questions while thinking aloud. Content validity, construct validity and intra-observer agreement were examined.

Results

Nine of the 39 items barely exerted influence on dignity. Eight of them could be omitted from the MIDAM-LTC, because the thinking aloud method revealed sensible explanations for their small influence on dignity. Residents reported that they missed no important items. Hypotheses to support construct validity, about the strength of correlations between on the one hand personal dignity and on the other hand well-being, quality of life or physical health status, were confirmed. On average, 83% of the scores given for each item’s influence on dignity were practically consistent over 1 week, and more than 80% of the residents gave consistent scores for the single item score for overall dignity.

Conclusion

The MIDAM-LTC has good content validity, construct validity and intra-observer agreement. By omitting 8 items from the instrument, a good balance between comprehensiveness and feasibility is realised. The MIDAM-LTC allows researchers to examine the concept of dignity more closely in the LTC setting, and can assist caregivers in providing dignity-conserving care.

PaTz groups for primary palliative care: reinventing cooperation between general practitioners and district nurses in palliative care: an evaluation study combining data from focus groups and a questionnaire

BACKGROUND

PaTz (an acronym for 'PAlliatieve Thuis Zorg'; palliative care at home) is an intervention to improve palliative care provision and strengthen the generalist knowledge of palliative care. In PaTz general practitioners and district nurses meet on a regular basis to identify patients with palliative care needs and to discuss care for these patients. This study explores experiences with regard to collaboration between general practitioners and district nurses, and perceived benefits of and barriers for implementation of PaTz.

METHODS

This study is conducted within the primary care setting. Participants were 24 general practitioners who filled in a questionnaire, and seven general practitioners, five district nurses and two palliative care consultants who attended one of two focus groups.

RESULTS

PaTz led to improved collaboration. Participants felt informational and emotional support from other PaTz participants. Also they felt that continuity of care was enhanced by PaTz. Practical recommendations for implementation were: meetings every 6 to 8 weeks, regular attendance from both general practitioners and district nurses, presence of a palliative care consultant, and a strong chairman.

CONCLUSIONS

PaTz is successful in enhancing collaboration in primary palliative care and easy to implement. Participants felt it improved continuity of care and knowledge on palliative care. Further research is needed to investigate whether patient and carer outcomes improve.

The end-of-life phase of high-grade glioma patients: a systematic review

BACKGROUND

High-grade gliomas (HGG) are rare and incurable; yet, these neoplasms result in a disproportionate share of cancer morbidity and mortality. Treatment of HGG patients is directed not merely towards prolonging life but also towards quality of life, which becomes the major goal in the end of life (EOL). The latter has received increasing attention over the last decade.

METHODS

We reviewed the literature related to the EOL phase of HGG patients from 1966 up to April 2012. Articles were retrieved from PubMed, Embase, Cinahl, PsycINFO and Cochrane database. We then selected papers for analysis using pre-determined inclusion criteria and subtracted information on the topics of interest.

RESULTS

The search yielded 695 articles, of which 17 were classified eligible for analysis according to pre-defined inclusion criteria. Reviewed topics were symptoms and signs, quality of life and quality of dying, caregiver burden, organization and location of palliative care, supportive treatment, and EOL decision making. Nearly all identified studies were observational, with only two non-randomized intervention studies. Symptom burden is high in the EOL phase and affects the quality of life of both patient and carer. Palliative care services are more intensively used compared to other cancer patients. Cognitive deficits increase as the disease progresses, hampering communication and decision making.

CONCLUSION

The EOL phase of HGG is substantially different from other patient groups, and more clinical studies in HGG on supportive medication, advance care planning and decision making are required. The organization of care, development of guidelines and interventions to decrease caregiver burden in the EOL phase are critical as well.

Is educational attainment related to end-of-life decision-making? A large post-mortem survey in Belgium

BACKGROUND

Educational attainment has been shown to influence access to and quality of health care. However, the influence of educational attainment on decision-making at the end of life with possible or certain life-shortening effect (ELDs ie intensified pain and symptom alleviation, non-treatment decisions, euthanasia/physician-assisted suicide, and life-ending acts without explicit request) is scarcely studied. This paper examines differences between educational groups pertaining to prevalence of ELDs, the decision-making process and end-of-life treatment characteristics.

METHOD

We performed a retrospective survey among physicians certifying a large representative sample of Belgian deaths in 2007. Differences between educational groups were adjusted for relevant confounders (age, sex, cause of death and marital status).

RESULTS

Intensified pain and symptom alleviation and non-treatment decisions are more likely to occur in higher educated than in lower educated patients. These decisions were less likely to be discussed with either patient or family, or with colleague physicians, in lower educated patients. A positive association between education and prevalence of euthanasia/assisted suicide (acts as well as requests) disappeared when adjusting for cause of death. No differences between educational groups were found in the treatment goal in the last week, but higher educated patients were more likely to receive opioids in the last day of life.

CONCLUSION

There are some important differences and possible inequities between educational groups in end-of-life decision-making in Belgium. Future research should investigate whether the found differences reflect differences in knowledge of and adherence to patient preferences, and indicate a discrepancy in quality of the end of life.

Reasons for hospitalisation at the end of life: differences between cancer and non-cancer patients

PURPOSE

Many patients are hospitalised during the final phase of life, even though most prefer to receive care at home until the end. This study aimed to explore the reasons and characteristics of hospitalisation in the final 3 months of life for patients who died non-suddenly, with a comparison between cancer patients and non-cancer patients.

METHODS

This study used a nationwide retrospective cross-sectional survey among Dutch general practitioners.

RESULTS

Of the 317 hospitalised patients, 65 % had cancer. Most common reasons for hospitalisation in the final 3 months of life were respiratory symptoms (31 %), digestive symptoms (17 %), and cardiovascular symptoms (17 %). Seventy-three percent of patients experienced an acute episode before hospitalisation, and for 46 % of patients, their own GP initiated the hospitalisation. Compared to non-cancer patients, cancer patients were significantly more likely to be aged less than 80 (81 versus 46 %), were more likely to be hospitalised because of digestive symptoms (22 versus 7 %), were less likely to have a curative treatment goal before the last hospitalisation (6 versus 22 %) and were less likely to die in hospital (22 versus 49 %).

CONCLUSIONS

Respiratory problems were the most common reasons for hospitalisation in the group of patients as a whole. Digestive problems were a frequent reason for hospitalisation in cancer patients and cardiovascular symptoms in non-cancer patients. Hospitalisation can therefore be anticipated by monitoring these relatively common symptoms. Also, timely communication with the patient is recommended about their preferences for hospital or home treatment in the case of an acute episode.

Quality indicators for palliative care: update of a systematic review

CONTEXT

In 2007, a systematic review revealed a number of quality indicators referring mostly to palliative care outcomes and processes. Psychosocial and spiritual aspects were scarcely represented. Most publications lacked a detailed description of the development process. With many initiatives and further developments expected, an update is needed.

OBJECTIVES

This update gives an overview of the published quality indicators for palliative care and identifies any new developments since 2007 regarding the number and type of indicators developed and the methodology applied.

METHODS

The same literature search as in the 2007 review was used to identify relevant publications up to October 2011. Publications describing development processes or characteristics of quality indicators for palliative care were selected by two reviewers independently.

RESULTS

The literature search resulted in 435 hits in addition to the 650 hits found in the previous review. Thirteen new publications were selected in addition to the 16 publications selected earlier, describing 17 sets of quality indicators containing 326 indicators. These cover all domains of palliative care as defined by the U.S. National Consensus Project. Most indicators refer to care processes or outcomes. The extent to which methodological characteristics are described varies widely.

CONCLUSION

Recent developments in measuring quality of palliative care using quality indicators are mainly quantitative in nature, with a substantial number of new indicators being found. However, the quality of the development process varies considerably between sets. More consistent and detailed methodological descriptions are needed for the further development of these indicators and improved quality measurement of palliative care.

Nursing home staff's views on residents' dignity: a qualitative interview study

Background

Maintaining dignity is an important element of end-of-life care and also of the care given in nursing homes. Factors influencing personal dignity have been studied from both nursing home residents’ and staff’s perspective. Little is however known about the way nursing home staff perceive and promote the personal dignity of individual residents in daily practice, or about staff’s experiences with preserving dignity within the nursing home. The aim of this study is to gain more insight in this.

Methods

A qualitative descriptive interview study was designed, in which in-depth interviews were performed with 13 physicians and 15 nurses. They expressed their views on the personal dignity of 30 recently admitted nursing home residents on the general medical wards of four nursing homes in The Netherlands. Interviews were transcribed and analyzed following the principles of thematic analysis.

Results

According to both physicians and nurses, physical impairment and being dependent on others threatened the residents’ dignity. Whether or not this led to a violation of an individual resident’s dignity, depended - in staff’s opinion - on the resident’s ability to show resilience and to keep his/her individuality. Staff mentioned treating residents with respect and taking care of their privacy as most important elements of dignity-conserving care and strived to treat the residents as they would like to be treated themselves. They could often mention aspects that were important for a particular resident’s dignity. But, when asked what they could contribute to a particular resident’s dignity, they often mentioned general aspects of dignity-conserving care, which could apply to most nursing home residents. By attempting to give dignity-conserving care, physicians and nurses often experienced conflicting values in daily care and barriers caused by the lack of resources.

Conclusions

Tailoring dignity-conserving care to an individual nursing home resident appears hard to bring about in daily practice. Both attention to solve contextual barriers within the nursing home as well as more awareness of staff members for their own values, which they take as a reference point in treating residents, is needed to promote personal dignity in the nursing home setting.

Changes in the personal dignity of nursing home residents: a longitudinal qualitative interview study

Background

Most nursing home residents spend the remainder of their life, until death, within a nursing home. As preserving dignity is an important aim of the care given here, insight into the way residents experience their dignity throughout their entire admission period is valuable.

Aim

To investigate if and how nursing home residents’ personal dignity changes over the course of time, and what contributes to this.

Design

A longitudinal qualitative study.

Methods

Multiple in-depth interviews, with an interval of six months, were carried out with 22 purposively sampled nursing home residents of the general medical wards of four nursing homes in The Netherlands. Transcripts were analyzed following the principles of thematic analysis.

Results

From admission onwards, some residents experienced an improved sense of dignity, while others experienced a downward trend, a fluctuating one or no change at all. Two mechanisms were especially important for a nursing home resident to maintain or regain personal dignity: the feeling that one is in control of his life and the feeling that one is regarded as a worthwhile person. The acquirement of both feelings could be supported by 1) finding a way to cope with one’s situation; 2) getting acquainted with the new living structures in the nursing home and therefore feeling more at ease; 3) physical improvement (with or without an electric wheelchair); 4) being socially involved with nursing home staff, other residents and relatives; and 5) being amongst disabled others and therefore less prone to exposures of disrespect from the outer world.

Conclusion

Although the direction in which a resident’s personal dignity develops is also dependent on one’s character and coping capacities, nursing home staff can contribute to dignity by creating optimal conditions to help a nursing home resident recover feelings of control and of being regarded as a worthwhile person.

What happens after a request for euthanasia is refused? Qualitative interviews with patients, relatives and physicians

OBJECTIVE

Obtaining in-depth information from both patient and physician perspectives about what happens after a request for euthanasia or physician-assisted suicide (EAS) is refused.

METHODS

In-depth interviews with nine patients whose EAS request was refused and seven physicians of these patients, and with three relatives of patients who had died after a request was refused and four physicians of these patients. Interviews were conducted at least 6 months after the refusal.

RESULTS

A wish to die remained in all patients after refusal, although it sometimes diminished. In most cases patient and physician stopped discussing this wish, and none of the physicians had discussed plans for the future with the patient or evaluated the patient's situation after their refusal. Physicians were aware of patients' continued wish to die.

CONCLUSIONS

Patients who are refused EAS may subsequently be silent about a wish to die without abandoning it. Open communication about wishes to die is important, even outside the context of EAS, because if people feel unable to talk about them, their quality of life may be further diminished.

PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS

Follow up appointments after refusal could give patients the opportunity to discuss their feelings and physicians to support them.

Personal dignity in the terminally ill from the perspective of caregivers: a survey among trained volunteers and physicians

BACKGROUND

Although dignity is increasingly considered a goal of palliative care, little research has evaluated the understanding of dignity at the end of life from a caregiver's perspective.

OBJECTIVE

The study objective was to investigate and compare the views of trained volunteers and SCEN physicians on maintaining dignity for patients reaching the end of life.

DESIGN

The study is a survey questionnaire study.

SUBJECTS

Subjects were two groups of caregivers involved in care for dying patients: trained volunteers (n=236) and end-of-life consultants (SCEN physicians; n=427).

MEASUREMENTS

Measurement was done via the Dutch version of the 22-item Patient Dignity Inventory on symptoms and experiences that have been shown to influence the sense of dignity in terminally ill patients. Respondents were asked to rate on a five-point scale the extent to which they considered the items as influential on dignity in terminally ill patients, and as problematic in practice in maintaining dignity for patients in the last phase of life.

RESULTS

Overall, volunteers indicated items more frequently as influential to dignity and as problematic in maintaining dignity at the end of life, compared to SCEN physicians. Volunteers gave significantly higher ratings than SCEN physicians to most of the social items, and to half of the psychological and existential items.

CONCLUSIONS

It seems that SCEN physicians consider the physical aspects of suffering to be most influential and problematic in practice in preserving dignity, while volunteers think psychosocial aspects are most important in preserving dignity at the end of life. These findings suggest that the role and responsibilities of caregivers involved in care for terminally ill patients affect the factors that they think influence dignity.

Seizures in patients with high-grade glioma: a serious challenge in the end-of-life phase

BACKGROUND

To analyse the prevalence of seizures and use of antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) in the end-of-life (EOL) phase of patients with high-grade glioma (HGG) and to identify patient characteristics associated with the occurrence of seizures in the last week of life.

METHODS

Patients were recruited from a cohort of adults with HGG diagnosed in 2005 and 2006 in three tertiary referral centres for patients with brain tumour. Physicians involved in the EOL care of patients who had HGG and had died were asked to fill in a questionnaire regarding seizures and antiepileptic treatment in the last 3 months and in the last week of life. Data on seizures and use of AEDs before the EOL phase were obtained from medical correspondence and hospital medical charts.

RESULTS

Out of 155 patients who had died, data for 92 patients were eligible for analysis. Twenty-nine percent of these 92 patients had seizures during the last week of life; 33% of patients had a history of seizures and 22% did not. Besides a history of status epilepticus (p=0.047), we identified no other significant risk factors for developing seizures in the last week of life. Seventy percent of all patients used AEDs before the last week of life. In 35% of patients in whom AEDs were tapered, seizures occurred in the last week of life.

CONCLUSIONS

Our results demonstrate that seizures are a common symptom in patients with HGG during the last week of life and emphasise the importance of adequate AED treatment throughout the EOL phase.

Death with dignity from the perspective of the surviving family: a survey study among family caregivers of deceased older adults

BACKGROUND

Death with dignity has been identified as important both to patients and their surviving family. While research results have been published on what patients themselves believe may affect the dignity of their deaths, little is known about what family caregivers consider to be a dignified death.

AIM

(1) To assess the prevalence of death with dignity in older adults from the perspective of family caregivers, (2) to determine factors that diminish dignity during the dying phase according to family caregivers, and (3) to identify physical, psychosocial, and care factors associated with death with dignity.

DESIGN

A survey study with a self-administered questionnaire.

PARTICIPANTS

Family caregivers of 163 deceased older (>55 years of age) adults ("patients") who had participated in the Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam.

RESULTS

Of the family caregivers, 69% reported that their relative had died with dignity. Factors associated with a dignified death in a multivariate regression model were patients feeling peaceful and ready to die, absence of anxiety and depressive mood, presence of fatigue, and a clear explanation by the physician of treatment options during the final months of life.

CONCLUSIONS

The physical and psychosocial condition of the patient in combination with care factors contributed to death with dignity from the perspective of the family caregiver. The patient's state of mind during the last phase of life and clear communication on the part of the physician both seem to be of particular importance.

Does health status affect perceptions of factors influencing dignity at the end of life?

CONTEXT

More people are surviving into old age, and chronic diseases tend to become more common with age. Ill health and disability can lead to concerns about loss of personal dignity.

OBJECTIVES

To investigate whether health status affects the perceptions of factors influencing personal dignity at the end of life, and the relationship between those perceptions and sociodemographic characteristics.

METHODS

A subsample (n=2282) of a large advance directives cohort study was used. Three different health status groups (good, moderate, and poor) were defined based on the Euroqol-5D and a question on whether they had an illness. For each health status group, we calculated the percentage of respondents who indicated the extent to which the items of the Patient Dignity Inventory would influence their dignity as (very) large. Logistic regression analyses were used to investigate the associations between the perceptions of factors influencing personal dignity and sociodemographics.

RESULTS

The percentage of respondents who indicated the factors as having a (very) large influence on dignity at the end of life were not significantly different for the three health status groups, except for three physical items on symptoms, roles, and routines. Those items were significantly more influential on dignity for people with a poor health status. Gender, old age, having a partner, and having a belief or religion that is important to one's life were associated with an understanding of factors influential to dignity.

CONCLUSION

Health status seems only to affect the perceptions of physical factors maintaining dignity at the end of life. This might suggest that the understanding of dignity will not substantially change as health status changes and may support starting advance care planning early.

Changes over a decade in end-of-life care and transfers during the last 3 months of life: a repeated survey among proxies of deceased older people

BACKGROUND

In the ageing population, older people are living longer with chronic diseases. Especially in the last year of life, this can result in an increased need for (complex) end-of-life care.

AIM

To study potential changes in received end-of-life care and transfers by older people during the last 3 months of life between 2000 and 2010.

DESIGN

A repeated survey in 2000 and 2010.

PARTICIPANTS

Data were collected from a sample of proxies of deceased sample members of the Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam in 2000 (n = 270; response = 79%) and 2010 (n = 168; response = 59%).

RESULTS

Compared to 2000, in 2010, older people had a significantly lower functional ability 3 months before death. Over the 10-year period, people were significantly less likely to receive no care (12% vs 39%) and more likely to receive formal home care (45% vs 15%). Older people aged over 80 years, females, and those in the 2010 sample were more likely to receive formal home and institutional care (formal home care - age > 80 years, odds ratio: 3.7, male odds ratio: 0.74, 2010 - odds ratio: 6.9; institutional care - age > 80 years, odds ratio: 11.6, male odds ratio: 0.34, 2010 - odds ratio: 2.5) than informal or no care. Regardless of the study year, older people receiving informal home care were more likely to die in hospital (odds ratio: 2.3).

CONCLUSION

Two scenarios of care in the last 3 months of life seem to arise: staying at home as long as possible with a higher chance of hospital death or living in a residential or nursing home, reducing the chance of hospital death.