Table 2.
Physical, psychosocial and spiritual characteristics among palliative home care clients by prognosis
| Variable | Overall study population (N = 74,964) |
Prognosis ≥6 months (n = 26,945) |
Prognosis < 6 months (n = 48,019) |
Standardized difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Column % (n) | ||||
| Disease Diagnosesa | ||||
| Cancer | 83.2 (62,394) | 82.9 (22,326) | 83.4 (40,068) | −0.01 |
| Circulatory | 46.2 (34,614) | 45.8 (12,332) | 46.4 (22,282) | −0.01 |
| Musculoskeletal | 18.5 (13,861) | 19.3 (5208) | 18.0 (8653) | 0.03 |
| Diabetes | 18.3 (13,691) | 18.1 (4874) | 18.4 (8817) | − 0.01 |
| Respiratory | 17.8 (13,344) | 17.7 (4760) | 17.9 (8584) | −0.01 |
| Nervous/mental disorders | 17.6 (13,155) | 18.6 (5005) | 17.0 (8150) | 0.04 |
| Metabolic/endocrine | 13.9 (10,382) | 14.3 (3865) | 13.6 (6517) | 0.02 |
| Digestive | 12.2 (9237) | 11.8 (3174) | 12.6 (6063) | − 0.02 |
| Number of co-morbid chronic conditions | ||||
| 0-2 | 51.8 (38,803) | 51.8 (13,955) | 51.7 (24,848) | 0.02 |
| 3+ | 48.2 (36,161) | 48.2 (12,990) | 48.3 (23,171) | −0.02 |
| Activities of Daily Living (ADL-H) Scale | ||||
| Independent/minor supervision (0-1) | 51.7 (38,726) | 68.0 (18,317) | 42.5 (20,409) | 0.53 |
| Moderate/severe impairment (2-6) | 48.3 (36,238) | 32.0 (8628) | 57.5 (27,610) | −0.53 |
| Pain Scale | ||||
| No pain/less than daily (0-1) | 29.1 (21,801) | 33.5 (9035) | 26.6 (12,766) | 0.15 |
| Daily/severe pain (2-3) | 70.9 (53,163) | 66.5 (17,910) | 73.4 (35,253) | −0.15 |
| Cognitive Performance Scale (CPS) Scale | ||||
| No/mild impairment (0-1) | 73.8 (55,316) | 80.4 (21,650) | 70.1 (33,666) | 0.24 |
| Moderate/severe impairment (2-6) | 26.2 (19,648) | 19.7 (5295) | 29.9 (14,353) | −0.24 |
| Depression Rating Scale (DRS) | ||||
| No signs/symptoms of depression (0-2) | 87.7 (65,759) | 89.3 (24,068) | 86.8 (41,691) | 0.08 |
| Signs/symptoms of depression (3-14) | 12.3 (9205) | 10.7 (2877) | 13.2 (6328) | −0.08 |
| Pressure Ulcer Risk Scale | ||||
| Low/mild risk (0-2) | 67.6 (50,693) | 79.7 (21,486) | 60.8 (29,207) | 0.42 |
| Moderate/high/very high risk (3-8) | 32.4 (24,271) | 20.3 (5459) | 39.2 (18,812) | −0.42 |
| Health-related outcomes | ||||
| Fell in last 90 days | 25.8 (18,253) | 22.0 (5865) | 28.0 (12,388) | −0.13 |
| Experiences too much sleep | 29.2 (21,899) | 19.4 (5225) | 34.7 (16,674) | −0.35 |
| Shortness of breath | ||||
| Absent | 33.0 (24,763) | 39.0 (10,518) | 29.7 (14,245) | 0.20 |
| Absent at rest, present during moderate/day-to-day activities | 48.0 (35,979) | 47.5 (12,809) | 48.3 (23,170) | −0.01 |
| Present at rest | 19.0 (14,222) | 13.4 (3618) | 22.1 (10,604) | −0.23 |
| Moderate to severe fatigue | 69.6 (52,184) | 59.5 (16,044) | 75.3 (36,140) | −0.34 |
| Nausea (present during last 3 days) | 33.4 (25,052) | 29.4 (7929) | 35.7 (17,123) | −0.13 |
| Vomiting (present during last 3 days) | 15.3 (11,468) | 12.1 (3266) | 17.1 (8202) | −0.14 |
| Fluctuating state of consciousness | 7.8 (5816) | 2.7 (738) | 10.7 (5078) | −0.32 |
| Acute change in mental status from person’s usual functioning | 10.5 (7815) | 4.5 (1212) | 13.9 (6603) | −0.33 |
| One or more hospital admissions in last 90 days | 46.1 (34,521) | 39.4 (10,617) | 49.8 (23,904) | −0.19 |
| One or more emergency department visits in last 90 days | 25.3 (18,987) | 22.6 (6075) | 26.9 (12,912) | −0.10 |
| Psychosocial/Spiritual | ||||
| Has a sense of completion on transfer of financial, legal and other formal responsibilities | 70.9 (52,665) | 64.4 (17,341) | 74.5 (35,324) | −0.22 |
| Individual is accepting of the situation | 81.9 (60,849) | 81.4 (21,903) | 82.2 (38,946) | −0.02 |
| Finds guidance in religion or spirituality | 42.8 (31,837) | 43.1 (11,610) | 42.7 (20,227) | 0.01 |
| Expresses a wish to die now | 4.5 (3407) | 1.7 (469) | 6.1 (2938) | −0.23 |
| Other outcomes | ||||
| Caregiver Risk Evaluation (CaRE) | ||||
| Low/moderate risk (1-2) | 51.3 (35,994) | 59.8 (15,842) | 46.2 (20,152) | −0.28 |
| High/very high risk (3-4) | 48.7 (34,141) | 40.2 (10.627) | 53.8 (23,514) | 0.28 |
| Person believes performance in physical functioning can still improve | 27.2 (19,297) | 38.2 (10,193) | 20.6 (9104) | 0.39 |
| Care professional believes person is capable of improved physical functioning | 12.3 (8719) | 22.9 (6109) | 5.9 (2610) | 0.50 |
| Individual is aware of their prognosis | 39.4 (27,950) | 19.2 (5126) | 51.6 (22,824) | −0.72 |
aDisease diagnoses groups are not mutually exclusive