Table 1.
Patient characteristics at baseline (N = 425)
| Whole sample (N = 425) | O-SPC (N = 285) | I-SPC (N = 140) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| n (%) | n (%) | n (%) | p | |
| Age, M (SD) | 69.7 (12.5) | 71.4 (11.3) | 66.2 (14.0) | <.001 a |
| Age groups | ||||
| ≤ 50 | 28 (6.6) | 15 (5.3) | 13 (9.3) | .013 b |
| 51–60 | 65 (15.3) | 35 (12.3) | 30 (21.4) | |
| 61–70 | 110 (25.9) | 71 (24.9) | 39 (27.9) | |
| 71–80 | 136 (32.0) | 99 (34.7) | 37 (26.4) | |
| ≥ 81 | 86 (20.2) | 65 (22.8) | 21 (15.0) | |
| Gender | ||||
| Male | 220 (51.9) | 146 (51.4) | 74 (52.9) | .779 b |
| Female | 205 (48.1) | 138 (48.6) | 66 (47.1) | |
| Primary disease | ||||
| Gastrointestinal cancer | 104 (24.5) | 63 (22.1) | 41 (29.3) | .209 b |
| Cancer of the respiratory system | 78 (18.4) | 60 (21.1) | 18 (12.9) | |
| Urogenital and breast cancer | 136 (32.0) | 90 (31.6) | 46 (32.9) | |
| Other malignancies | 72 (16.9) | 47 (16.5) | 25 (17.9) | |
| Non-malignant diseases | 35 (8.2) | 25 (8.8) | 10 (7.1) | |
| Nationality | ||||
| German | 395 (95.9) | 260 (94.5) | 135 (98.5) | .055 b |
| Religious confession | ||||
| Yes | 235 (57.5) | 150 (54.9) | 85 (62.5) | .14 b 5 |
| Family status | ||||
| Single | 80 (18.9) | 46 (16.2) | 34 (24.3) | .105 b |
| Married, life partnership | 211 (49.8) | 143 (50.4) | 68 (48.6) | |
| Divorced, widowed | 133 (31.4) | 95 (33.5) | 38 (27.1) | |
| Children | ||||
| Yes | 302 (71.4) | 205 (72.2) | 97 (69.8) | .608 b |
| Living environment | ||||
| Living alone | 135 (32.3) | 90 (32.4) | 45 (32.1) | .427 b |
| Living alone, but family nearby | 48 (11.5) | 28 (10.1) | 20 (14.3) | |
| Living with family | 235 (56.2) | 160 (57.6) | 75 (53.6) | |
| Education | ||||
| High school (12–13 years) | 129 (31.2) | 81 (29.5) | 48 (34.5) | .566 b |
| Junior high school (10 years) | 117 (28.3) | 79 (28.7) | 38 (27.3) | |
| Elementary school (≤ 9 years) | 168 (40.6) | 115 (41.8) | 53 (38.1) | |
| Previous nursing situation | ||||
| No nursing | 78 (19.3) | 41 (15.2) | 37 (27.4) | .008 b |
| By relatives only | 151 (37.3) | 99 (36.7) | 52 (38.5) | |
| Nursing service only | 116 (28.6) | 88 (32.6) | 28 (20.7) | |
| Nursing service and relatives | 60 (14.8) | 42 (15.6) | 18 (13.3) | |
Significant group differences are marked in bold
Abbreviations: O-SPC outpatient specialist palliative care, I-SPC inpatient specialist palliative care, pts patients
a T-test (two-tailed), b Chi2-Test