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Background: Recognized disparities in quality of end‐of‐life care exist. Our aim was to assess the quality of care for patients dying from cancer, as perceived by bereaved relatives, within hospitals in seven European and South American countries. Materials and Methods: A postbereavement survey was conducted by post, interview, or via tablet in Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, U.K., Germany, Norway, and Poland. Next of kin to cancer patients were asked to complete the international version of the Care Of the Dying Evaluation (i‐CODE) questionnaire 6–8 weeks postbereavement. Primary outcomes were (a) how frequently the deceased patient was treated with dignity and respect, and (b) how well the family member was supported in the patient's last days of life. Results: Of 1,683 potential participants, 914 i‐CODE questionnaires were completed (response rate, 54%). Approximately 94% reported the doctors treated their family member with dignity and respect "always" or "most of the time"; similar responses were given about nursing staff (94%). Additionally, 89% of participants reported they were adequately supported; this was more likely if the patient died on a specialist palliative care unit (odds ratio, 6.3; 95% confidence interval, 2.3–17.8). Although 87% of participants were told their relative was likely to die, only 63% were informed about what to expect during the dying phase. Conclusion: This is the first study assessing quality of care for dying cancer patients from the bereaved relatives' perspective across several countries on two continents. Our findings suggest many elements of good care were practiced but improvement in communication with relatives of imminently dying patients is needed. (ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03566732). Implications for Practice: Previous studies have shown that bereaved relatives' views represent a valid way to assess care for dying patients in the last days of their life. The Care Of the Dying Evaluation questionnaire is a suitable tool for quality improvement work to help determine areas where care is perceived well and areas where care is perceived as lacking. Health care professionals need to sustain high quality communication into the last phase of the cancer trajectory. In particular, discussions about what to expect when someone is dying and the provision of hydration in the last days of life represent key areas for improvement. Disparities exist in the quality of end‐of‐life care. This article assesses the quality of care for dying cancer patients, as perceived by bereaved relatives, within hospitals in seven European and South American countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The ERANet-LAC CODE (Care Of the Dying Evaluation) international survey assessed quality of care for dying cancer patients in seven countries, by use of the i-CODE questionnaire completed by bereaved relatives. The aim of this sub study was to explore which factors improve or reduce quality of end-of-life (EOL) care from Norwegian relatives' point of view, as expressed in free text comments. Methods: 194 relatives of cancer patients dying in seven Norwegian hospitals completed the i-CODE questionnaire 6–8 weeks after bereavement; recruitment period 14 months; response rate 58%. Responders were similar to non-responders in terms of demographic details.104 participants (58% spouse/partner) added free text comments, which were analyzed by systematic text condensation. Results: Of the 104 comments, 45% contained negative descriptions, 27% positive and 23% mixed. 78% described previous experiences, whereas 22% alluded to the last 2 days of life. 64% of the comments represented medical/surgical/oncological wards and 36% palliative care units. Four main categories were developed from the free text comments: 1) Participants described how attentive care towards the practical needs of patients and relatives promoted dignity at the end of life, which could easily be lost when this awareness was missing. 2) They experienced that lack of staff, care continuity, professional competence or healthcare service coordination caused uncertainty and poor symptom alleviation. 3) Inadequate information to patient and family members generated unpredictable and distressing final illness trajectories. 4) Availability and professional support from healthcare providers created safety and enhanced coping in a difficult situation. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that hospitals caring for cancer patients at the end of life and their relatives, should systematically identify and attend to practical needs, as well as address important organizational issues. Education of staff members ought to emphasize how professional conduct and communication fundamentally affect patient care and relatives' coping. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: We conducted an international survey of bereaved relatives of cancer patients dying in hospitals in seven countries, with the aim to assess and improve the quality of care. The survey used the i-CODE (International Care of the Dying Evaluation) questionnaire. Here, we report findings from the free-text comments submitted with the questionnaires. We explored for topic areas which would potentially be important for improving the quality of care. Further, we examined who reported free-texts and in what way, to reduce bias without ignoring the function the free-texts may have for those contributing. Methods: We used a combined qualitative-quantitative approach: logistic regression analysis to study the effect of respondents’ socio-demographic characteristics on the probability of free-texts contributions and thematic analysis to understand the free-text meaning. The primary survey outcomes, (1) how frequently the dying person was treated with dignity and respect and (2) support for the relative, were related to free-text content. Results: In total, 914 questionnaires were submitted; 457/914 (50%) contained free-text comments. We found no socio-demographic differences between the respondents providing free-texts and those who did not. We discovered different types of free-texts (“feedback,” “narrative,” “self-revelation”) containing themes of which “continuity of care,” “the one person who can make a difference,” and “the importance of being a companion to the dying” represent care dimensions supplementing the questionnaire items. A free-text type of grateful feedback was associated with well perceived support for the relative. Conclusion: Bereaved relatives used the free-texts to report details related to i-CODE items and to dimensions otherwise not represented. They highlighted the importance of the perceived support from human interaction between staff and the dying patient and themselves; and that more than professional competence alone, personal, meaningful interactions have profound importance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]