TY - JOUR

T1 - Where do people not want to die?

T2 - A representative survey of views of general population and health care professionals in the Czech Republic

AU - Loucka, Martin

AU - Payne, Sheila A.

AU - Brearley, Sarah G.

AU - Slama, Ondrej

AU - Spinkova, Martina

PY - 2014

Y1 - 2014

N2 - Introduction: Dying in the preferred place of death is considered to be one of indicators of quality of end-of-life care. Research into health care professionals’ knowledge of patients’ preferences for place of death is therefore important. The aim of this study was to assess the difference between health care professionals and the general public in their views on where do people not want to die.Methods: Secondary analysis of data from a representative survey of the general population and a convenience sample of health care professionals in the Czech Republic. Respondents from the general population were asked where they would not like to die and health care professionals were asked where they think the general population does not want to die. Sample consisted of 1095 respondents from the general population and 1006 health care professionals. Health care professionals were physicians (73.3%) and nurses (26.6%).Results: Long-term care facilities and hospitals were identified as the most undesirable settings for place of death. A significant difference in views on hospices was identified: 6% of health professionals compared to 42.2% of the general population (P < 0.001) indicated a preference for people to not die in hospice.Discussion: The most unwanted settings for place of death were places where most people die. More research is needed to understand the factors influencing preferences and should feed into policy making. Better promotion of hospice care should be developed to communicate to the general public the differences between hospices and other institutions.

AB - Introduction: Dying in the preferred place of death is considered to be one of indicators of quality of end-of-life care. Research into health care professionals’ knowledge of patients’ preferences for place of death is therefore important. The aim of this study was to assess the difference between health care professionals and the general public in their views on where do people not want to die.Methods: Secondary analysis of data from a representative survey of the general population and a convenience sample of health care professionals in the Czech Republic. Respondents from the general population were asked where they would not like to die and health care professionals were asked where they think the general population does not want to die. Sample consisted of 1095 respondents from the general population and 1006 health care professionals. Health care professionals were physicians (73.3%) and nurses (26.6%).Results: Long-term care facilities and hospitals were identified as the most undesirable settings for place of death. A significant difference in views on hospices was identified: 6% of health professionals compared to 42.2% of the general population (P < 0.001) indicated a preference for people to not die in hospice.Discussion: The most unwanted settings for place of death were places where most people die. More research is needed to understand the factors influencing preferences and should feed into policy making. Better promotion of hospice care should be developed to communicate to the general public the differences between hospices and other institutions.

KW - Communication

KW - Eastern Europe

KW - Hospice care

KW - Place of death

KW - Preferences

U2 - 10.1179/1743291X14Y.0000000088

DO - 10.1179/1743291X14Y.0000000088

M3 - Journal article

AN - SCOPUS:84919619301

VL - 22

SP - 264

EP - 271

JO - Progress in Palliative Care

JF - Progress in Palliative Care

SN - 0969-9260

IS - 5

ER -