Which terminally ill cancer patients receive hospice in-patient care?

The objective of this study was to investigate which terminally ill cancer patients receive in-patient care in hospices and other specialist palliative care in-patient units. An interview survey was made of family or others who knew about the last year of life of a random sample of people who died in 1990. Twenty district health authorities from a range of inner city, outer urban and rural settings took part. Although self-selected, districts were nationally representative in terms of social characteristics and on many indicators of health service provision and usage. Interviews were obtained for 2074 cancer deaths out of a random sample of 2915, a 71% response rate. 342 had been admitted to a total of 31 different hospices. Using logistic regression analysis five factors were found to independently predict hospice in-patient care: having pain in the last year of life, having constipation, being dependent on others for help with activities of daily living for between one and six ...  more