title: A retrospective analysis of preferred and actual place of death for hospice patients.
abstract: The purpose of this study was to explore recording rates of preferences, and the preferred and actual place of death among hospice patients. Data was collected retrospectively from a group of three hospices over a 6-month period. Of 298 patients, 174 patients (58.4%) had no expressed preference for place of death. The congruence of preferred and actual place of death was: home 52.5%; hospice 86.2%; hospital 100%; and care home 50%. The overall congruence was 61.7% and kappa value was 0.38 (0.23-0.52, 95% confidence interval). The low rate of expressed preferences suggests that congruence of preferred and actual place of death was a suitable outcome measurement for less than half of hospice patients. A wider range of patient-focused indicators for identifying the quality of end-of life services is needed as preferred place of death may not be the only suitable indicator for all patients.
authors.affiliation: University of Kent, UK. l.m.holdsworth@kent.ac.uk
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Holdsworth
authors.forename: Simon
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Fisher
mesh_terms: D003643:Death; D006738:Hospices; D006801:Humans; D057240:Patient Preference; D012189:Retrospective Studies