Associations between physician home visits for the dying and place of death: A population-based retrospective cohort study.

ABSTRACT:

Background

While most individuals wish to die at home, the reality is that most will die in hospital.

Aim

To determine whether receiving a physician home visit near the end-of-life is associated with lower odds of death in a hospital.

Design

Observational retrospective cohort study, examining location of death and health care in the last year of life.

Setting/participants

Population-level study of Ontarians, a Canadian province with over 13 million residents. All decedents from April 1, 2010 to March 31, 2013 (n = 264,754).

Results

More than half of 264,754 decedents died in hospital: 45.7% died in an acute care hospital and 7.7% in complex continuing care. After adjustment for multiple factors-including patient illness, home care services, and days of b

SUBMITTER: Tanuseputro P 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5813907 | biostudies-literature | 2018

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature