Terminally Ill Patients Die More Peacefully At Home, Study

Terminally ill patients undergo a more peaceful end at home than in hospital, according to recent findings published in the journal BMC Medicine.

"This is the most comprehensive population-based study to date of factors and outcomes associated with dying at home compared to hospital. We know that many patients fear being at home believing they place an awful burden on their family. However, we found that grief was actually less intense for relatives of people who died at home," said study author Barbara Gomes in an interview with BioMedCentral.

Examining the records of four health districts in London that investigated 1.3 million residents, of which 177 patients had died at a hospital, while 175 patients had died at home, researchers asked 352 family members of London patients questions on the kind of pain they went through, as well as issues of peace in their final week.

Investigators at the Cicely Saunders Institute at King's College London looked at various factors, including a patient's personal preference, the domestic palliative care and the preferences of family members, apart from community nursing, says scienceworldreport. Such factors played a vast role in indicating whether the patients had a peaceful week in their last days of life.

About 91 percent of home noted these factors. What was important was the presence of a family member at the end.

"Our findings prompt policymakers and clinicians to improve access to comprehensive home care packages including specialist palliative care services and 24/7 community nursing. This is important because, in some regions, the workforce providing essential elements of this care package is being reduced," concluded Gomes.