Table 1. The mean and median number of overnight acute care hospital stays and the mean and median length of stay in the last year of life by decedent factors (n = 12,763).
| Decedent factors | N | No. overnight stays | Length of stay (days) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mean | SD | Med | IQR | Mean | SD | Med | IQR | ||
| Age at death | |||||||||
| <60 | 1640 | 3.0 | 2.7 | 2 | 1–4 | 8.7 | 10.9 | 5 | 3–10 |
| 60–69 | 1994 | 2.6 | 2.3 | 2 | 1–4 | 8.9 | 9.8 | 6 | 3–11 |
| 70–79 | 3200 | 2.4 | 2.1 | 2 | 1–3 | 9.3 | 10.1 | 6 | 3–11 |
| 80–89 | 4208 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2 | 1–3 | 9.6 | 10.2 | 6 | 3–12 |
| 90+ | 1721 | 1.5 | 1.7 | 1 | 0–2 | 9.4 | 10.1 | 6 | 3–12 |
| Sex | |||||||||
| Male | 6910 | 2.4 | 2.2 | 2 | 1–3 | 9.1 | 10.2 | 6 | 3–11 |
| Female | 5853 | 2.1 | 2.1 | 2 | 1–3 | 9.4 | 10.3 | 6 | 3–12 |
| Partnered at death | |||||||||
| No | 6825 | 2.1 | 2.1 | 2 | 1–3 | 9.7 | 10.9 | 6 | 3–12 |
| Yes | 5938 | 2.5 | 2.2 | 2 | 1–3 | 8.8 | 9.6 | 6 | 3–11 |
| Location of residence | |||||||||
| Major cities | 8767 | 2.3 | 2.1 | 2 | 1–3 | 9.5 | 10.7 | 6 | 3–12 |
| Inner regional | 2121 | 2.2 | 2.1 | 2 | 1–3 | 8.6 | 8.9 | 6 | 3–11 |
| Outer regional | 1216 | 2.3 | 2.2 | 2 | 1–3 | 8.6 | 9.6 | 5 | 3–10 |
| Remote | 425 | 2.4 | 2.3 | 2 | 1–3 | 8.5 | 10.3 | 5 | 3–10 |
| Very remote | 234 | 2.8 | 2.9 | 2 | 1–4 | 7.6 | 9.1 | 5 | 3–9 |
| Private health insurance | |||||||||
| No | 8227 | 1.9 | 2.0 | 1 | 1–3 | 9.2 | 10.0 | 6 | 3–11 |
| Yes | 4536 | 2.9 | 2.4 | 2 | 1–4 | 9.1 | 10.6 | 6 | 3–11 |
| Type of residence | |||||||||
| Private residence | 9754 | 2.5 | 2.2 | 2 | 1–3 | 9.2 | 10.3 | 6 | 3–11 |
| RACF | 2711 | 1.4 | 1.7 | 1 | 0–2 | 9.1 | 9.8 | 6 | 3–11 |
| Other | 298 | 1.8 | 2.0 | 1 | 0–3 | 9.1 | 9.7 | 6 | 3–11 |
| Underlying cause of death | |||||||||
| Neoplasms | 7391 | 2.5 | 2.2 | 2 | 1–3 | 9.0 | 10.0 | 6 | 3–11 |
| Heart failure | 2017 | 2.1 | 2.1 | 2 | 1–3 | 9.4 | 9.7 | 6 | 3–12 |
| Renal failure | 1138 | 2.3 | 2.0 | 2 | 1–3 | 9.9 | 11.9 | 6 | 3–12 |
| COPD | 1089 | 2.3 | 2.2 | 2 | 1–3 | 9.7 | 10.7 | 7 | 4–12 |
| Alzheimer’s | 605 | 0.6 | 0.9 | 0 | 0–1 | 9.9 | 10.1 | 7 | 4–12 |
| Liver failure | 206 | 3.1 | 3.0 | 2 | 1–4 | 9.6 | 11.1 | 6 | 3–12 |
| Motor neurone disease | 136 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1 | 0.5–2 | 8.1 | 7.7 | 5 | 3–11 |
| Parkinson’s | 181 | 1.0 | 1.3 | 1 | 0–2 | 9.4 | 8.8 | 7 | 4–12 |
| No. comorbid conditions | |||||||||
| None | 2852 | 1.1 | 1.5 | 1 | 0–2 | 8.0 | 8.4 | 5 | 3–10 |
| One | 2790 | 2.2 | 1.9 | 2 | 1–3 | 8.3 | 9.3 | 5 | 3–10 |
| Two | 2192 | 2.4 | 1.9 | 2 | 1–3 | 9.2 | 9.9 | 6 | 3–11 |
| Three | 1654 | 2.7 | 2.2 | 2 | 1–3 | 9.3 | 9.8 | 6 | 3–11 |
| Four or more | 3275 | 3.3 | 2.4 | 3 | 2–4 | 10.0 | 11.5 | 6 | 3–12 |
RACF, residential aged care facility; COPD, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; IQR, interquartile range; SD, standard deviation; Med, Median