Table 2. Profile of decedents and bivariate analysis of place of death (n = 62,951).
| Variables | Total (column %) | Home deaths (column %) | Non-home deaths (column %) | p-value* |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Individual factors | ||||
| Age (years) | <0.001 | |||
| 21–34 | 620 (1.0) | 95 (15.3) | 525 (84.7) | |
| 35–44 | 1,480 (2.4) | 302 (20.4) | 1,178 (79.6) | |
| 45–54 | 4,504 (7.1) | 956 (21.2) | 3,548 (78.8) | |
| 55–64 | 9,964 (15.8) | 2,388 (24.0) | 7,576 (76.0) | |
| 65–74 | 13,341 (21.2) | 3,487 (26.1) | 9,854 (73.9) | |
| 75–84 | 17,723 (28.2) | 5,318 (30.0) | 12,405 (70.0) | |
| ≥85 | 15,319 (24.3) | 5,388 (35.2) | 9.931 (64.8) | |
| Mean age ± SD (years) | 74.0 ± 14.3 | 76.4 ± 13.7 | 73.0 ± 14.5 | <0.001 |
| Sex | <0.001 | |||
| Female | 28,728 (45.6) | 9,243 (32.2) | 19,485 (67.8) | |
| Male | 34,223 (54.4) | 8,691 (25.4) | 25,532 (74.6) | |
| Ethnic group | <0.001 | |||
| Chinese | 48,350 (76.8) | 13,451 (27.8) | 34,899 (72.2) | |
| Malay | 8,787 (14.0) | 3,249 (37.0) | 5,538 (63.0) | |
| Indian | 4,431 (7.0) | 983 (22.2) | 3,448 (77.8) | |
| Others | 1,383 (2.2) | 251 (18.2) | 1,132 (81.8) | |
| Clinical factors | ||||
| Cause of death | <0.001 | |||
| Malignant neoplasm | 22,813 (36.2) | 7,434 (32.6) | 15,379 (67.4) | |
| Heart & hypertensive disease | 16,400 (26.1) | 3,390 (20.7) | 13,010 (79.3) | |
| Lung & respiratory disease | 16,338 (25.9) | 4,047 (24.8) | 12,291 (75.2) | |
| Cerebrovascular disease | 6,360 (10.1) | 2,599 (40.9) | 3,761 (59.1) | |
| Diabetes mellitus | 1,040 (1.7) | 464 (44.6) | 576 (55.4) | |
| Charlson comorbid index | <0.001 | |||
| ≤1 | 18,974 (30.1) | 6,498 (34.3) | 12,476 (65.7) | |
| = 2 | 5,481 (8.7) | 1,592 (29.1) | 3,889 (70.1) | |
| ≥3 | 38,496 (61.2) | 9,844 (25.6) | 28,652 (74.4) | |
| System factors | ||||
| Hospitalisations in 30–90 days before death | 31,387 (49.9) | 4,851 (15.2) | 26,536 (84.8) | <0.001 |
| Recorded home death preference | 622 (1.0) | 322 (51.8) | 300 (48.2) | <0.001 |
| Home palliative care use | 7,112 (11.3) | 3,556 (50.0) | 3,556 (50.0) | <0.001 |
CCI: Charlson Comorbidity Index
*chi-square test was used to assess the differences between groups