Table 4.
Dying in an institution or at home: perspective of bereaved relative
| Place of death | P value t test | P value χ2 test | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| In institution (N = 29) | At home (N = 34) | |||
| Number of days patient stayed at place of death [mean (SD)] | 7 (6) | 59 (35) | 0.000 | |
| Number of transfers [mean (SD)] | 1.9 (1.7) | 1.2 (1.3) | 0.047 | |
| Number of disciplines involved with patient [mean (SD)] | 6.1 (2.3) | 5.8 (1.9) | 0.64 | |
| Number of clinical specialties involved with patient [mean (SD)] | 2.2 (1.2) | 1.8 (0.8) | 0.011 | |
| Patient [n (%)] | ||||
| Was fatigued | 22 (79) | 29 (88) | 0.33 | |
| Had loss of appetite | 22 (76) | 30 (88) | 0.20 | |
| Had pain | 20 (69) | 29 (85) | 0.12 | |
| Had dyspnoea | 18 (62) | 17 (52) | 0.40 | |
| Had mouth or mucous problems | 18 (62) | 16 (49) | 0.28 | |
| Was incontinent | 20 (69) | 13 (38) | 0.015 | |
| Had nausea | 9 (32) | 10 (30) | 0.88 | |
| Had bedsores | 5 (17) | 13 (38) | 0.07 | |
| Was confused | 14 (48) | 10 (29) | 0.12 | |
| Suffered from anxiety | 12 (41) | 5 (15) | 0.021 | |
| Was depressed | 3 (10) | 2 (6) | 0.54 | |
| Evaluation of care during the last 3 days of life [n (%)] | ||||
| Assistance with personal care was sufficient | 27 (93) | 32 (94) | 0.87 | |
| Nursing care was sufficienta | 26 (90) | 33 (97) | 0.23 | |
| Relative was involved in decision-making | 25 (89) | 33 (97) | 0.22 | |
| Relative was sufficiently involved in decision-making | 24 (89) | 33 (100) | 0.049 | |
| Patient might have disagreed with medical decision(s) | 4 (15) | 1 (3) | 0.10 | |
| Relative disagreed with medical decision(s) | 7 (24) | 7 (21) | 0.78 | |
| It had been clear that patient was dying | 18 (67) | 26 (79) | 0.29 | |
aIncluding patients who did not need professional nursing care