title: [Palliative and support care at home in primary care].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To estimate the proportion of people requiring palliative and support care at home in primary care and to describe their characteristics.
  
  
  METHODS
  A descriptive study was carried out by five Spanish sentinel networks between October 2007 and March 2008 in 282,216 people attended by 218 general practitioners and nurses. Patients receiving comprehensive, active and continued care at home were included if the aim was not to prolong life but to achieve the best quality of life for the patient, the family and the carers. A standard form was used to collect data on age, sex, type of patient, underlying diseases and other variables related to the process. Crude and age-adjusted rates were estimated.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of the 400 men and 792 women registered, 12% were strictly terminal. The mean age was 82.4 years and was higher in patients with functional disability (82.9 years) than in terminally-ill patients (78.9 years) (p<0.01). The estimated prevalence was 422.3 per 100,000 inhabitants aged 14 years or more (95% CI: 398.7-447.0) and was much higher in women than in men (553.9 versus 287.3, p<0.01). The estimate for the entire Spanish population was 309.0 per 100,000 inhabitants (95% CI: 286.0-332.0).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The prevalence of palliative and support care in Spain is around three cases per 1,000 inhabitants and is higher in elderly populations. More than 85% of patients needing palliative or support care have a life expectancy of over 6 months and thus represent the majority of persons using this type of medical and social support. The most susceptible groups are women and the oldest-old.
authors.affiliation: Consejería de Sanidad, Junta de Castilla y León, Valladolid, España. vegaloto@jcyl.es
authors.forename: Tomás
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Vega
authors.forename: Enrique
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Arrieta
authors.forename: José E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Lozano
authors.forename: Maite
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Miralles
authors.forename: Yolanda
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Anes
authors.forename: Cristina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Gomez
authors.forename: Carmen
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Quiñones
authors.forename: Milagros
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Perucha
authors.forename: Mario
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Margolles
authors.forename: José Ángel
authors.initials: JÁ
authors.lastname: Gómez de Caso
authors.forename: Milagros
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gil
authors.forename: Socorro
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Fernández
authors.forename: Purificación
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: de la Iglesia
authors.forename: Aurora
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: López
authors.forename: Rufino
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Alamo
authors.forename: Oscar
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Zurriaga
authors.forename: Julián
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Mauro Ramos
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003953:Diagnosis-Related Groups; D006233:Persons with Disabilities / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006699:Home Care Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006792:House Calls / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D008017:Life Expectancy; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009313:National Health Programs; D010166:Palliative Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011320:Primary Health Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012944:Social Support; D013030:Spain; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013727:Terminal Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D055815:Young Adult