Table 3.
Patient and relatives characteristics, care characteristics, circumstances and restrictions related to the appropriateness of the place of death during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.
| Died at the appropriate place | OR (95% CI) Univariate |
OR (95% CI) Multivariate |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| n (%) | |||
| Patient characteristics | |||
| Sex | |||
| Male (n = 194) | 132 (69.5) | 1 | |
| Female (n = 186) | 128 (70.7) | 1.06 (0.68–1.66) | |
| Other/unknown | 2.42 (0.52–11.25) | ||
| Age (years) | 1.01 (0.99–1.03) | ||
| COVID-19 | |||
| (Probably) no (n = 222) | 132 (81.5) | 1 | 1 |
| (Probably) yes (n = 165) | 134 (61.8) | 0.37 (0.23–0.59) | 0.57 (0.28–1.15) |
| Serious (chronic) illness | |||
| Cancer (n = 79) | 67 (85.9) | 3.05 (1.54–6.01) | 1.43 (0.57–3.58) |
| Heart disease (n = 71) | 44 (62.0) | 0.62 (0.36–1.06) | |
| Lung disease (n = 65) | 38 (58.8) | 0.52 (0.30–0.90) | 0.54 (0.26–1.12) |
| Diabetes (n = 44) | 33 (75.0) | 1.29 (0.63–2.64) | |
| Dementia (n = 132) | 89 (67.9) | 0.83 (0.52–1.31) | |
| Other (n = 104) | 102 (98.1) | 0.65 (0.40–1.05) | |
| Symptoms in the last 2 days of life | |||
| Shortness of breath | |||
| No (164) | 127 (78.4) | 1 | 1 |
| Yes (n = 221) | 143 (65.9) | 0.53 (0.33–0.85) | 0.83 (0.45–1.54) |
| Pain | |||
| No (n = 179) | 118 (67.0) | 1 | |
| Yes (n = 195) | 145 (75.5) | 1.52 (0.96–2.39) | |
| Restlessness | |||
| No (n = 137) | 102 (76.7) | 1 | |
| Yes (n = 240) | 162 (68.1) | 0.65 (0.40–1.06) | |
| Bereaved relatives characteristics | |||
| Sex | |||
| Male (n = 71) | 49 (70.0) | 1 | |
| Female (n = 309) | 215 (70.5) | 1.02 (0.58–1.81) | |
| Age (years) | 1.01 (0.99–1.03) | ||
| Relation to patient | |||
| Child (n = 214) | 150 (71.4) | 1 | |
| Partner (n = 53) | 38 (73.1) | 1.09 (0.55–2.15) | |
| Other family member (n = 107) | 72 (69.2) | 0.90 (0.54–1.50) | |
| Friend (n = 13) | 9 (75.0) | 1.20 (0.31–4.59) | |
| Other (n = 4) | 1 (25.0) | 0.13 (0.01–1.31) | |
| COVID-19 | |||
| (Probably) no (n = 327) | 221 (68.6) | 1 | |
| (Probably) yes (n = 18) | 13 (72.2) | 1.19 (0.41–3.43) | |
| Don’t know (n = 37) | 31 (83.8) | 2.36 (0.96–5.84) | |
| Care characteristics | |||
| Place of death | |||
| Home (n = 68) | 62 (93.9) | 1 | 1 |
| Hospital (n = 114) | 67 (59.8) | 0.10 (0.03–0.28) | 0.11 (0.03–0.44) |
| Nursing home (n = 176) | 117 (68.4) | 0.14 (0.05–0.40) | 0.24 (0.06–0.90) |
| Hospice (n = 35) | 25 (71.4) | 0.16 (0.04–0.56) | 0.17 (0.03–0.83) |
| Sufficient medical care (n = 258) | 199 (77.1) | 2.74 (1.73–4.344) | 1.53 (0.79–2.95) |
| Sufficient nursing care (n = 265) | 205 (78.5) | 3.21 (2.02–5.10) | 1.99 (0.84–4.74) |
| Sufficient personal care (n = 257) | 198 (78.0) | 2.80 (1.77–4.42) | 0.99 (0.46–2.38) |
| Sufficient attention for spiritual needs of patient (n = 137) | 113 (83.1) | 2.77 (1.64–4.66) | 1.50 (0.78–2.88) |
| Sufficient emotional support for relative (n = 313) | 242 (78.1) | 5.61 (3.21–9.83) | 3.33 (1.60–6.96) |
| Restrictions | |||
| Visitors allowed in last 2 days | |||
| Yes, without restrictions (n = 86) | 74 (86.0) | 1 | 1 |
| Yes, with restrictions (n = 223) | 156 (70.9) | 0.40 (0.20–0.78) | 0.86 (0.36–2.06) |
| No (n = 78) | 38 (50.7) | 0.17 (0.08–0.36) | 0.71 (0.25–2.02) |
| Relatives allowed to help with care after death | |||
| Yes (n = 110) | 95 (86.4) | 1 | 1 |
| No (n = 210) | 128 (62.1) | 0.26 (0.14–0.48) | 0.72 (0.32–1.56) |
| Don’t know (n = 63) | 43 (69.4) | 0.36 (0.17–0.77) | 0.56 (0.21–1.51) |
| Care or treatment restricted due to COVID-19 pandemic | |||
| No (n = 157) | 135 (87.7) | 1 | 1 |
| Yes (n = 208) | 120 (58.3) | 0.20 (0.11–0.34) | 0.30 (0.15–0.61) |
| Don’t know (n = 25) | 15 (68.2) | 0.30 (0.11–0.83) | 0.58 (0.16–2.13) |
| Circumstances | |||
| Being involved in care and treatment decisions | |||
| Very involved (n = 170) | 136 (81.0) | 1 | 1 |
| Moderately involved (n = 108) | 75 (70.8) | 0.57 (0.32–1.01) | 1.47 (0.69–3.13) |
| Not involved (n = 113) | 59 (54.1) | 0.28 (0.16–0.48) | 1.03 (0.48–2.18) |
| Relatives were told that death was near | |||
| Yes (n = 310) | 229 (74.4) | 1 | 1 |
| No (n = 76) | 40 (54.8) | 0.42 (0.25–0.71) | 0.75 (0.36–1.58) |
| Relatives were explained what to expect of the moment of death | |||
| Yes (n = 161) | 128 (81.0) | 1 | |
| No (n = 221) | 138 (63.3) | 0.40 (0.25–0.66) | 0.86 (0.45–1.61) |
Effect estimates marked with bold indicate statistical significance.