title: Where to die? That is the question: A study of cancer patients in Israel.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Most patients prefer to die at home, but barely 30% do so. This study examines the variables contributing to dying at home.
  
  
  METHODS
  The participants were 326 cancer patients, of both genders, with a mean age of 63.25 years, who died from 2000 to 2008 and were treated by the palliative care unit of the Barzilai Hospital. Some 65.7% died at home and 33.4% in a hospital. The data were extracted from patient files. The examined variables were demographic (e.g., age, gender, marital status, ethnic background, number of years in Israel until death), medical (e.g., age at diagnosis, diagnosis, nature of last treatment, patient received nursing care, patient given the care of a social worker, patient had care of a psychologist, family received care of a social worker, patient had a special caregiver), and sociological (e.g., having insurance, having worked in Israel, living alone or with family, living with one's children, living in self-owned or rented house, family members working).
  
  
  RESULTS
  The findings indicate that the chances of dying at home are higher if the patient is non-Ashkenazi, the family got social worker care, the patient lived in a self-owned house, the patient lived with his family, the family members worked, and the patient's stay in Israel since immigration was longer. Logistic regression showed that all the predictors together yielded a significant model accounting for 10.9-12.3% of the variance.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The findings suggest that dying at home requires maintaining continued care for the patient and family in a community context.
authors: Oncology Institute and Department of Social Services,Barzilai Medical Center,Ashqelon,Israeland Affiliated withBen-Gurion University of the Negev,Faculty of Health Sciences, Beer-Sheva,Israel.
authors: Frida
authors: F
authors: Barak
authors: Oncology Institute and Department of Social Services,Barzilai Medical Center,Ashqelon,Israeland Affiliated withBen-Gurion University of the Negev,Faculty of Health Sciences, Beer-Sheva,Israel.
authors: Sofia
authors: S
authors: Livshits
authors: Oncology Institute and Department of Social Services,Barzilai Medical Center,Ashqelon,Israeland Affiliated withBen-Gurion University of the Negev,Faculty of Health Sciences, Beer-Sheva,Israel.
authors: Haana
authors: H
authors: Kaufer
authors: Oncology Institute and Department of Social Services,Barzilai Medical Center,Ashqelon,Israeland Affiliated withBen-Gurion University of the Negev,Faculty of Health Sciences, Beer-Sheva,Israel.
authors: Ruth
authors: R
authors: Netanel
authors: Maccabi Healthcare Services,Oncology Service Line,Tel Aviv,Israel.
authors: Nava
authors: N
authors: Siegelmann-Danieli
authors: Department of Sociology,Tel Aviv University,Tel Aviv,Israel.
authors: Yasmin
authors: Y
authors: Alkalay
authors: School of Psychological Sciences,Tel-Aviv University,Tel Aviv, Israel and Psychooncology Research Center, Sheba Medical Center, Tel-Hashomer,Israeland Affiliated withSackler School of Medicine,Tel Aviv,Israel.
authors: Shulamith
authors: S
authors: Kreitler
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001293:Attitude to Death; D003657:Decision Making; D005260:Female; D006701:Home Nursing; D006801:Humans; D007557:Israel / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality / Q000451:nursing*; D010166:Palliative Care; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012931:Social Environment; D013727:Terminal Care
keywords: Palliative care