Trajectories of care home residents during the last month of life: the case of France

Cluster Analysis of Palliative Care Patients' Trajectories in Primary Care: Hospitalization Yes, but Home and Nursing Home Care Above All

Background: Understanding the environment in which patients live at the end of their lives is essential to improving palliative care for these patients and their families. Objectives: We aimed to explore the different living places and trajectories of palliative care patients in the last three months of life in primary care and to identify patient characteristics associated with these trajectories. Methods: This retrospective national study was carried out among a population of adult patients who died a non-sudden death. The trajectories were modeled and classified using sequence analysis, optimal matching, and hierarchical ascendant clustering. Univariate and multivariate multinomial logistic regression compared patient characteristics associated with these trajectories. The focus was on primary care. Patients had to have spent at least one day at home or in a nursing home in the last three months before their death. The research took place between November 2020 and November 2021 in mainland France. Results: Three hundred adult patients were included in the study. Cluster analysis revealed three main trajectories during the last three months of life: "staying at home" (57%), "staying in a nursing home" (29%), and "moving from home to hospital" (14%). Dementia and having children limited hospitalization. Not having an informal caregiver and having dementia were associated with staying in a nursing home. Conclusions: Palliative care patients' living situations and transitions can be tracked using primary care practice data. This study highlights the unique needs of palliative care in home and nursing home settings. Additionally, factors such as dementia and family dynamics play a significant role in determining where patients live, which can help inform clinical practices and research strategies in palliative care.

Identification of the trajectory of functional decline for advance care planning in a nursing home population

OBJECTIVE

To identify diagnostic groups and the form of the trajectory of functional decline that has the potential to enhance advance care planning (ACP) in a nursing home (NH) population.

METHODS

Retrospective, longitudinal study with dependent variable (function) derived from the Resident Classification Scale (RCS), 1997-2008. Trajectory modelling used linear and curvilinear terms.

RESULTS

The organ failure or other residents have a linear average functional decline. The organ failure residents had an average decline of 6.5 points per year and average function score at death of 68.6, CI [62.4, 74.8]. The cancer and frailty residents had significant curvilinear terms. The frailty residents had a slower rate of decline at 9.54 points per year and were most care dependent at death, with an average function score of 77.1, CI [73.8, 80.9].

CONCLUSION

Functional change is a measurable variable for a predictive tool to enhance ACP for NH residents based on their diagnosis.

Is the level of education associated with transitions between care settings in older adults near the end of life? A nationwide, retrospective cohort study

BACKGROUND

End-of-life transitions between care settings can be burdensome for older adults and their relatives.

AIM

To analyze the association between the level of education of older adults and their likelihood to experience care transitions during the final months before death.

DESIGN

Nationwide, retrospective cohort study using register data.

SETTING/PARTICIPANTS

Older adults (⩾65 years) who died in Sweden in 2013 ( n = 75,722). Place of death was the primary outcome. Institutionalization and multiple hospital admissions during the final months of life were defined as secondary outcomes. The decedents' level of education (primary, secondary, or tertiary education) was considered as the main exposure. Multivariable analyses were stratified by living arrangement and adjusted for sex, age at time of death, illness trajectory, and number of chronic diseases.

RESULTS

Among community-dwellers, older adults with tertiary education were more likely to die in hospitals than those with primary education (55.6% vs 49.9%; odds ratio (OR) = 1.21, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.14-1.28), but less likely to be institutionalized during the final month before death (OR = 0.83, 95% CI = 0.76-0.91). Decedents with higher education had greater odds of remaining hospitalized continuously during their final 2 weeks of life (OR = 1.12, 95% CI = 1.02-1.22). Among older adults living in nursing homes, we found no association between the decedents' level of education and their likelihood to be hospitalized or to die in hospitals.

CONCLUSION

Compared with those who completed only primary education, individuals with higher educational attainment were more likely to live at home until the end of life, but also more likely to be hospitalized and die in hospitals.

Aggressiveness of End-of-Life Care for Hospitalized Individuals with Cancer with and without Dementia: A Nationwide Matched-Cohort Study in France

OBJECTIVES

To compare the aggressiveness of end-of-life care in hospitalized individuals with cancer with and without dementia in France.

DESIGN

Nationwide register-based matched-cohort study.

SETTING

Hospital facilities in France.

PARTICIPANTS

All individuals with cancer aged 65 and older with a diagnosis of dementia who died between January 1, 2010 and December 31, 2013, matched one-to-one with individuals with cancer without dementia (n = 26,782 matched pairs).

RESULTS

Older individuals with cancer with dementia were less likely to receive aggressive treatment in their last month of life than those who were not diagnosed with dementia. Dementia was associated with significantly greater likelihood of receiving chemotherapy (2.8% vs 8.5%, P < .001, adjusted odds ratio (aOR) = 0.33, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.31-0.36) in the month before death. Individuals with dementia were also less likely to receive radiation therapy (aOR = 0.49, 95% CI = 0.43-0.56), blood transfusions (aOR = 0.67, 95% CI = 0.64-0.70), artificial nutrition (aOR = 0.79, 95% CI = 0.73-0.85), and invasive ventilation (aOR = 0.62, 95% CI = 0.57-0.68), although they were more likely to remain hospitalized over their entire last month of life (aOR = 1.42, 95% CI = 1.37-1.48) and to have more than one emergency department visit (aOR = 1.22, 95% CI = 1.12-1.34).

CONCLUSION

Older hospitalized adults with cancer with dementia are less likely to receive aggressive cancer treatment near the end of life than those without dementia. This discrepancy raises important ethical questions for clinicians and healthcare policy-makers.

Discussing end-of-life issues in nursing homes: a nationwide study in France

BACKGROUND

discussing end-of-life issues with nursing home residents and their relatives is needed to ensure patient-centred care near the end of life.

OBJECTIVES

this study aimed to estimate the frequency of nursing home physicians discussing end-of-life issues with residents and their relatives and to investigate how discussing end-of-life issues was associated with care outcomes in the last month of life.

METHODS

post-mortem cohort study in a nationwide, representative sample of 78 nursing home facilities in France. Residents who died from non-sudden causes between 1 October 2013 and 31 May 2014 in these facilities were included (n = 674).

RESULTS

end-of-life issues were discussed with at most 21.7% of the residents who died during the study period. In one-third of the situations (32.8%), no discussion about end-of-life-related topics ever occurred, either with the resident or with the relatives. Older people with severe dementia were less likely to have discussed more than three of the six end-of-life topics we investigated, compared with residents without dementia (OR = 0.17, 95% CI = 0.08-0.22). In the last month of life, discussing more than three end-of-life issues with the residents or their relatives was significantly associated with reduced odds of dying in a hospital facility (adjusted OR = 0.51, 95% CI = 0.33-0.79) and with a higher likelihood of withdrawing potentially futile life-prolonging treatments (adjusted OR = 2.37, 95% CI = 1.72-3.29).

CONCLUSION

during the last months of life, discussions about end-of-life issues occurred with only a minority of nursing home decedents, although these discussions may improve end-of-life care outcomes.