Table 2.
Characteristics of next-of-kin and information about patients
| Main sample (N = 237) | Interrater (N = 38) | T2 (N = 55) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Number (%) | Number (%) | Number (%) | |
| Gender | |||
| Female | 153 (65) | 27 (71) | 36 (66) |
| Male | 84 (35) | 11 (29) | 19 (34) |
| Age | |||
| 20–29 | 6 (3) | 4 (11) | 2 (4) |
| 30–39 | 20 (8) | – | 5 (9) |
| 40–49 | 34 (14) | 10 (26) | 10 (18) |
| 50–59 | 69 (29) | 15 (40) | 17 (31) |
| 60–69 | 56 (24) | 5 (13) | 15 (27) |
| 70–79 | 33 (14) | 2 (5) | 5 (9) |
| 80+ | 19 (8) | 2 (5) | 1 (2) |
| Relation to patient | |||
| Husband / Wife / Partner | 101 (43) | 11 (30) | 21 (38) |
| Son / Daughter | 96 (41) | 15 (39) | 23 (42) |
| Brother / Sister | 13 (6) | 4 (10) | 3 (5) |
| Son-in-law / Daughter-in-law | 4 (2) | 6 (16) | 2 (4) |
| Parent | 9 (3) | – | 1 (2) |
| Friend | 3 (1) | – | – |
| Other | 11 (4) | 2 (5) | 5 (9) |
| Nationality | |||
| Germany | 213 (90) | 35 (92) | 52 (94) |
| Austria | 1 (0.3) | – | – |
| Croatia | 1 (0.3) | – | – |
| Greece | 1 (0.3) | – | – |
| Italy | 2 (1) | – | – |
| Missing | 19 (8) | 3 (8) | 3 (6) |
| Religion | |||
| Roman Catholic | 101 (43) | 18 (47) | 22 (40) |
| Protestant | 89 (38) | 12 (32) | 24 (44) |
| Muslim | – | – | – |
| None | 43 (18) | 6 (16) | 8 (14) |
| New apostolic | 2 (0.5) | 1 (2.5) | 1 (2) |
| Buddhist | – | 1 (2.5) | – |
| Missing | 2 (0.5) | – | – |
| Main diagnosis of patient assessed by relativea | |||
| Cancer | 134 (57) | 24 (63) | 35 (64) |
| Kidney disease | 48 (20) | 8 (21) | 6 (11) |
| Heart failure | 41 (17) | 6 (16) | 4 (7) |
| Stroke | 33 (14) | 5 (13) | 7 (13) |
| COPD | 19 (8) | 3 (8) | 4 (7) |
| Dementia | 19 (8) | 6 (16) | 7 (13) |
| Motor neurone disease | 2 (1) | – | – |
| Don’t know | 5 (2) | – | 1 (2) |
| Something else | 51 (22) | 12 (32) | 13 (24) |
| Ward on which patient had died | |||
| Palliative Care Unit | 120 (51) | 24 (64) | 32 (58) |
| Internal medicine and neurology | 60 (25) | 7 (18) | 10 (18) |
| Intensive care unit | 57 (24) | 7 (18) | 13 (24) |
aMultiple selection was possible. Percentage rates reflect the amount of one diagnosis per sample.; T2 = Participants of repeated measurement