Home > Research > Publications & Outputs > The rapidly changing location of death in Canad...
View graph of relations

The rapidly changing location of death in Canada, 1994-2004.

Research output: Contribution to Journal/MagazineJournal articlepeer-review

Published
  • Donna Wilson
  • Corinne D. Truman
  • Roger Thomas
  • Robin Faisinger
  • Kathy Kovacs-Burns
  • Katherine Froggatt
  • Christopher Justice
Close
<mark>Journal publication date</mark>05/2009
<mark>Journal</mark>Social Science and Medicine
Issue number10
Volume68
Number of pages7
Pages (from-to)1752-1758
Publication StatusPublished
<mark>Original language</mark>English

Abstract

This 2008 study assessed location-of-death changes in Canada during 1994–2004, after previous research had identified a continuing increase to 1994 in hospital deaths. The most recent (1994–2004) complete population and individual-level Statistics Canada mortality data were analyzed, involving 1,806,318 decedents of all Canadian provinces and territories except Quebec. A substantial and continuing decline in hospitalized deaths was found (77.7%–60.6%). This decline was universal among decedents regardless of age, gender, marital status, whether they were born in Canada or not, across urban and rural provinces, and for all but two (infrequent) causes of death. This shift occurred in the absence of policy or purposive healthcare planning to shift death or dying out of hospital. In the developed world, recent changing patterns in the place of death, as well as the location and type of care provided near death appear to be occurring, making location-of-death trends an important topic of investigation. Canada is an important case study for highlighting the significance of location-of-death trends, and suggesting important underlying causal relationships and implications for end-of-life policies and practices.