Table 1 Patient demographic and clinical characteristics and caregiver and care network characteristics
From: Impact on place of death in cancer patients: a causal exploration in southern Switzerland
Characteristics | Details characteristics | Total n = 116 |
|---|---|---|
Time interval between assessment and death (days) | Mean | 38 |
Range | 3–89 | |
Gender | Male | 52 |
Female | 64 | |
Age(years) | 20–40 | 1 |
41–65 | 33 | |
66–80 | 58 | |
> 80 | 24 | |
Primary tumour site | Gatrointestinal tract | 40 |
Lung | 12 | |
Breast | 15 | |
All other tumours | 48 | |
Time interval between diagnosis and death (days) | Mean | 922 |
Range | 2–10,465 | |
Place of death | Home | 21 |
Hospital | 90 | |
Nursing home | 5 | |
Time interval between last administration of chemotherapy and death (days) | Mean | 34 |
Range | 0–247 | |
Distance from residence to cancer centre (km) | Mean | 4 |
Range | 1–74 | |
Area of residence | Rural | 31 |
Urban | 85 | |
Living arrangements | Alone | 40 |
With spouse | 65 | |
With siblings | 2 | |
With children | 6 | |
Other | 3 | |
Visits from palliative physicians | Yes | 35 |
No | 81 | |
Visits from palliative nurses | Yes | 93 |
No | 23 | |
Social worker | Involved | 49 |
Not involved | 67 | |
Volunteers | Involved | 71 |
Not involved | 45 | |
General practitioner | Home visits | 39 |
No home visits | 54 | |
Not available | 23 | |
Home care services | Public home care service | 33 |
Private home care service | 41 | |
None provided | 42 | |
Continuous home care provided by migrant care workers | Provided | 3 |
Place of care in the 60 days prior to assessment (range 0–60) | ||
Days spent at home | Mean | 48 |
Days spent in a hospital | Mean | 10 |
Days spent in a nursing home | Mean | 0 |
No. of hospitalisations in the 60 days prior to assessment | Mean | 1 |
Range | 0–3 | |
Karnofsky Performance Status | 10–40 | 41 |
50–60 | 63 | |
70–100 | 12 | |
Symptom burden | None-low | 6 |
Medium | 36 | |
High | 74 | |
Cancer treatment | Ongoing | 67 |
Discontinued | 49 | |
Patient’s awareness of dying | Open | 81 |
Closed | 34 | |
Not assessed | 1 | |
Patient’s preference for place of death | Home | 34 |
Hospital | 9 | |
Nursing home | 1 | |
Not assessed | 72 | |
Family’s awareness of dying | Open | 87 |
Closed | 18 | |
Not assessed | 11 | |
Family system’s conditions for home care | Suitable | 39 |
Unsuitable | 75 | |
Not assessed | 2 | |
Family’s preference for place of death | Home | 29 |
Hospital | 20 | |
Nursing home | 1 | |
Not assessed | 66 | |
Care team’s prediction of place of death | Home | 39 |
Nursing home | 2 | |
Hospital | 75 | |