Table A2:
GRADE Evidence Profile for Included Observational Studies on the Determinants of Home Versus Hospital Death
| Number of Studies | Risk of Bias | Inconsistency | Indirectness | Imprecision | Publication Bias | Upgrade Considerations | Quality |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Increase in nurse home visits in home care recipients (general end-of-life population) | |||||||
| 2 | No serious limitations | No serious limitations | No serious limitations | No serious limitations | Undetected | ⊕⊕ Low | |
| Nurse home visits in home care recipients | |||||||
| 1 | No serious limitations | N/A | No serious limitations | No serious limitations | Undetected | ⊕⊕ Low | |
| Increase in nurse home visits (general end-of-life population) | |||||||
| 1 | No serious limitations | N/A | No serious limitations | No serious limitations | Undetected | ⊕⊕ Low | |
| Nurse home visits (general end-of-life population) | |||||||
| 1 | No serious limitations | N/A | No serious limitations | No serious limitations | Undetected | ⊕⊕ Low | |
| Increase in physician home visits in home care recipients | |||||||
| 1 | No serious limitations | No serious limitations | No serious limitations | No serious limitations | Undetected | ⊕⊕ Low | |
| Physician home visits in home care recipients | |||||||
| 2 | No serious limitations | No serious limitations | No serious limitations | No serious limitations | Undetected | ⊕⊕ Low | |
| Physician home visits (general end-of-life population) | |||||||
| 1 | No serious limitations | No serious limitations | No serious limitations | No serious limitations | Undetected | ⊕⊕ Low | |
| Increase in physician home visits (general end-of-life population) | |||||||
| 1 | No serious limitations | N/A | No serious limitations | No serious limitations | Undetected | ⊕⊕ Low | |
| Multidisciplinary home care team | |||||||
| 2 | No serious limitations | N/A | No serious limitations | No serious limitations | Undetected | ⊕⊕ Low | |
| In-hospital palliative support team or hospice unit | |||||||
| 2 | No serious limitations | No serious limitations | No serious limitations | No serious limitations | Undetected | ⊕⊕ Low | |
| Patient preference for home death | |||||||
| 3 | No serious limitations | No serious limitations | No serious limitations | No serious limitations | Undetected | ⊕⊕ Low | |
| Family preference for home death | |||||||
| 1 | No serious limitations | N/A | No serious limitations | No serious limitations | Undetected | ⊕⊕ Low | |
| Congruence between patient and family preference | |||||||
| 1 | No serious limitations | N/A | No serious limitations | No serious limitations | Undetected | ⊕⊕ Low | |
| Longer time from referral to palliative care to death | |||||||
| 1 | No serious limitations | No serious limitations | No serious limitations | No serious limitations | Undetected | ⊕⊕ Low | |
| Cancer | |||||||
| 12 | No serious limitations | No serious limitations | No serious limitations | No serious limitations | Undetected | ⊕⊕ Low | |
| Hematological cancer | |||||||
| 3 | No serious limitations | No serious limitations | No serious limitations | No serious limitations | Undetected | ⊕⊕ Low | |
| Cardiovascular disease | |||||||
| 2 | No serious limitations | No serious limitations | No serious limitations | No serious limitations | Undetected | ⊕⊕ Low | |
| Major acute condition | |||||||
| 2 | No serious limitations | No serious limitations | No serious limitations | No serious limitations | Undetected | ⊕⊕ Low | |
| Functional status | |||||||
| 2 | No serious limitations | No serious limitations | No serious limitations | No serious limitations | Undetected | ⊕⊕ Low | |
| ICU admissions in the last year of life | |||||||
| 1 | No serious limitations | No serious limitations | No serious limitations | No serious limitations | Undetected | ⊕⊕ Low | |
| Hospital admissions in the last year of life | |||||||
| 1 | No serious limitations | No serious limitations | No serious limitations | No serious limitations | Undetected | ⊕⊕ Low | |
| Decision not to hospitalize in the event of a crisis | |||||||
| 1 | No serious limitations | No serious limitations | No serious limitations | No serious limitations | Undetected | ⊕⊕ Low | |
| Informal caregiver satisfaction with support from family physician | |||||||
| 1 | No serious limitations | No serious limitations | No serious limitations | Serious limitationb | Undetected | ⊕ Very Low | |
| Informal caregiver psychological distress during stable phase | |||||||
| 1 | No serious limitations | No serious limitations | No serious limitations | No serious limitations | Undetected | ⊕⊕ Low | |
| Informal caregiver health | |||||||
| 1 | No serious limitations | No serious limitations | No serious limitations | Serious limitationb | Undetected | ⊕ Very Low | |
| Informal caregiver presence | |||||||
| 1 | No serious limitations | No serious limitations | No serious limitations | No serious limitations | Undetected | ⊕⊕ Low | |
| Hospital bed availability | |||||||
| 7 | No serious limitations | No serious limitations | No serious limitations | No serious limitations | Undetected | ⊕⊕ Low | |
| Living arrangements | |||||||
| 10 | No serious limitations | No serious limitations | No serious limitations | No serious limitations | Undetected | ⊕⊕ Low | |
Abbreviations: GRADE, Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation; N/A, not applicable.
b
Substantial imprecision in the study results.