Patient and care characteristics in pre- and post-measurement for deceased patients
| Before start of PaTz (n= 460) | 1 year after start of PaTz (n= 305) | OR (95% CI)a | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Patient characteristics | |||
| Patient age, years, mean (SD) | 71.7 (14.5) | 75.2 (13.0) | 1.022 (1.010 to 1.034) |
| Patient sex, female, n (%) | 242 (52.7) | 149 (48.9) | 0.790 (0.586 to 1.064) |
| Cause of death, cancer, n (%) | 332 (72.2) | 213 (69.8) | 1.093 (0.770 to 1.553) |
| Care characteristics | |||
| Preferred place of death is known by GP, n (%) | 410 (90.7) | 280 (93.6) | 1.548 (0.864 to 2.773) |
| Home/with family | 285 (62.2) | 208 (68.2) | 1 (ref)b |
| Nursing home | 14 (3.1) | 2 (0.7) | 0.146 (0.032 to 0.663) |
| Care home | 52 (11.4) | 26 (8.5) | 0.433 (0.245 to 0.765) |
| Hospital | 48 (10.5) | 29 (9.5) | 0.782 (0.465 to 1.316) |
| Hospice | 59 (12.9) | 40 (13.1) | 0.914 (0.582 to 1.434) |
| Number of hospitalisations in last 30 days, n (%) | |||
| 0 | 293 (64.1) | 186 (61.0) | 1 (ref) |
| 1 | 122 (26.7) | 87 (28.5) | 1.130 (0.806 to 1.583) |
| ≥2 | 24 (9.2) | 32 (10.5) | 1.355 (0.815 to 2.255) |
| How long before death did GP consider a possible death within 6 months or sooner? n (%) | |||
| >6 months | 119 (26.4) | 103 (34.0) | 1 (ref)b |
| 3–6 months | 177 (39.2) | 109 (36.0) | 0.676 (0.469 to 0.976) |
| 1 or 2 months | 85 (18.8) | 47 (15.5) | 0.562 (0.355 to 0.891) |
| Between 1 month and 1 week | 56 (12.4) | 31 (10.2) | 0.607 (0.360 to 1.021) |
| In the last week | 14 (3.1) | 13 (4.3) | 1.099 (0.479 to 2.521) |
| How long before death was treatment aimed at comfort or palliation? n (%) | |||
| >6 months | 90 (19.8) | 74 (24.5) | 1 (ref) |
| 3–6 months | 126 (27.8) | 77 (25.5) | 0.811 (0.525 to 1.252) |
| 1 or 2 months | 114 (25.1) | 64 (21.2) | 0.726 (0.462 to 1.142) |
| Between 1 month and 1 week | 62 (13.7) | 54 (17.9) | 1.100 (0.671 to 1.801) |
| In the last week, or not at all | 62 (13.7) | 33 (10.9) | 0.684 (0.399 to 1.171) |
| Patient was included in PaTz register, n (%) | NAc | 188 (64.8) | |
| Conversations on: n (%) | |||
| Main diagnosis | 319 (70.1) | 208 (68.4) | 0.891 (0.642 to 1.237) |
| Incurability of disease | 358 (78.7) | 250 (82.2) | 1.480 (0.977 to 2.242) |
| Life expectancy | 333 (73.2) | 226 (74.3) | 1.055 (0.747 to 1.491) |
| Possible medical complications | 218 (47.9) | 160 (52.6) | 1.237 (0.915 to 1.674) |
| Physical complaints | 357 (78.5) | 243 (79.9) | 1.154 (0.797 to 1.671) |
| Psychological issues | 259 (56.9) | 168 (55.3) | 1.060 (0.779 to 1.442) |
| Social or societal issues | 167 (36.7) | 94 (30.9) | 0.876 (0.634 to 1.211) |
| Spiritual or existential issues | 154 (33.8) | 89 (29.3) | 0.834 (0.603 to 1.156) |
| Possibilities of palliative care | 343 (75.4) | 229 (75.3) | 1.003 (0.699 to 1.439) |
| Burden of treatment | 187 (41.1) | 131 (43.1) | 1.120 (0.828 to 1.515) |
| Wishes regarding (non-)treatment | 312 (68.6) | 209 (68.8) | 1.019 (0.739 to 1.406) |
↵a OR = odds ratio and CI; multilevel analysis adjusted for PaTz group, age, and sex of the patient, and cause of death (cancer versus other). Number of missing values ranges between 0 and 15 (for inclusion in the PaTz register). Results in bold: P<0.05.
↵b The overall Wald test was not significant.
↵c NA = not asked; this question was not included in the pre-measurement. PaTz = PAlliatieve Thuis Zorg, palliative care at home. Ref = reference. SD = standard deviation.