Factors relating to terminally ill cancer patients' willingness to continue living at home during the early phase of home care after discharge from clinical cancer centers in Japan.
OBJECTIVE
To assess the willingness of Japanese terminally ill cancer patients to continue living at home during the early phase of home care after discharge from a Clinical Cancer Center (CCC) in Japan, and to identify factors relating to their willingness to continue living at home.


METHODS
A cross-sectional questionnaire survey of a convenient sample of both Japanese terminally ill cancer patients and their caregivers (PFCs) was conducted (n = 294, effective response rate 25.0%). Questionnaires were mailed and medical records were accessed for 73 pairs of respondents, comprising one terminally ill cancer patient and one PFC.


RESULTS
At about 10 days after discharge, 64 patients (88%) wished to continue living at home. A hierarchical logistic regression analysis was performed on the data. It was found that the fewer the medical treatments undergone (OR = 0.20, 95% CI: 0.05-0.72), the higher the patients' perception that their condition was consistent with care at home (OR = 2.77, 95% CI: 1.08-8.62) and with their functional well-being (OR = 1.45, 95% CI: 1.08-2.17). In addition, the higher the caregivers' satisfaction with life (OR = 2.37, 95% CI: 1.15-5.77), the more willing patients tended to be to continue living at home. SIGNIFICANT OF RESULTS: The willingness of Japanese terminally ill cancer patients to continue living at home appears to be affected by caregiver status. This indicates a need for discharging facilities to monitor the state of home assistance and to investigate the nature of assistance required for continuing home care.
Hirabayashi
Yuka
Y
Statistics and Cancer Control Division, Research Center for Cancer Prevention and Screening, National Cancer Center, 5-1-1 Tsuikiji Chuo-ku, Tokyo 104-0045, Japan. yuimamur@gan2.res.ncc.go.jp
Miyashita
Mitsunori
M
Kawa
Masako
M
Kazuma
Keiko
K
Yamashita
Kohsuke
K
Okamoto
Naoyuki
N
D000328:Adult; D000359:Aftercare; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001294:Attitude to Health; D002173:Cancer Care Facilities; D017028:Caregivers / Q000523:psychology*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006699:Home Care Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy*; D010351:Patient Discharge; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D019452:Terminally Ill / Q000523:psychology*