Place of death of adolescents and young adults with cancer: first study in a French population.
OBJECTIVE
To improve the palliative care and more effectively meet the needs of young patients and their families at the end of life, the authors investigated the place of death of adolescents and young adults treated in their institution and identified some of the factors influencing the choice of place of death.


METHODS
The parents and/or partners of adolescents and young adults (15 to 25 years old) who died at Institut Curie (cancer center) between 2000 and 2003 were contacted. Twenty-one families agreed to participate in the interview between October 2005 and April 2006. Analysis of the interviews comprised a descriptive part and a thematic part.


RESULTS
Nineteen out of 21 (90%) families declared that they did not really choose their child's place of death due to lack of time. However, all families said that they preferred the hospital. No family attended a bereavement group after their child's death and only 3 families (14%) consulted a mental health care professional. Thematic analysis showed that representations and beliefs concerning life and death at least partly determined the family's capacity to discuss the place of death with their child.


CONCLUSIONS
Although progress has been made over recent years in France, there is still considerable room for improvement of palliative care to more effectively meet the needs of young patients and their families at the end of life.
Montel
Sebastien
S
Psycho-Oncology Department, Institut Curie, Paris, France.
Laurence
Valerie
V
Copel
Laure
L
Pacquement
Helene
H
Flahault
Cecile
C
D000293:Adolescent; D001293:Attitude to Death; D001601:Bereavement; D005190:Family; D005602:France; D006801:Humans; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy; D010166:Palliative Care / Q000523:psychology*; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology*; D011368:Professional-Family Relations; D013315:Stress, Psychological; D013727:Terminal Care / Q000523:psychology*; D055815:Young Adult