Discrepancy in the preferences of place of death between terminally ill cancer patients and their primary family caregivers in Taiwan
Journal
Social Science and Medicine
Journal Volume
61
Journal Issue
7
Pages
1560-1566
Date Issued
2005
Abstract
There is a worldwide common preference for dying at home. However, death at home does not come without significant challenges and potential consequences for families. Given the interactive nature of decisions regarding the place of death, the family's perspective is important and needs to be investigated. The purposes of this study were to compare (1) Taiwanese terminally ill cancer patients' and their family caregivers' preferences for the patient's place of death; and (2) important factors that are considered in choosing the preferred place of death from both points of view. A total of 617 dyads of terminally ill cancer patients and their family caregivers were surveyed. The majority of both terminally ill cancer patients and their family caregivers preferred to die at home (61.0% and 56.9%, respectively). A higher proportion of the family caregivers indicated a preference for hospital death for the patients. There was a moderate association between the two respondents in the preferences of place of death. Results underscore discrepancies between patients and their families in the importance given to cultural concerns, quality of health care, worries of being a burden to others, lack of availability of families, relationships with health care providers, and being surrounded by the home environment. Effective interventions need to be developed which can lighten the caregiving burden and help families retain dying patients at home, avoid unnecessary re-hospitalizations and unfavorable hospital deaths, and improve accordance with the patient's wishes. ? 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Subjects
End-of-life care; Place of death; Taiwan; Terminally ill cancer patients
SDGs
Other Subjects
cancer; health care; adult; cancer patient; caregiver; comparative study; conference paper; controlled study; cultural factor; death; female; health care quality; health survey; home; hospital; human; major clinical study; male; place preference; sample size; scoring system; terminal disease; Caregivers; Choice Behavior; Data Collection; Family; Home Care Services; Hospices; Hospitals; Humans; Neoplasms; Patient Satisfaction; Taiwan; Terminal Care; Terminally Ill; Asia; Eastern Hemisphere; Eurasia; Far East; Taiwan; World
Type
journal article