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Outpatient Palliative Care Program: Impact on Home Death Rate in Brazil.
- Source :
- Cancers; Apr2024, Vol. 16 Issue 7, p1380, 9p
- Publication Year :
- 2024
-
Abstract
- Simple Summary: This study investigates the impact of an outpatient palliative care program on the location of death among patients with cancer. The findings reveal a notable increase in home and hospice deaths for those participating in the program, highlighting the potential benefits of specialized palliative care in challenging healthcare contexts. While the positive impact of early palliative care on the quality of life of cancer patients is well established, there is a noticeable research gap in developing countries. This study sought to determine the impact of an outpatient palliative care (OPC) program on the location of death among patients in Brazil. This was a retrospective study including patients with cancer who died between January 2022 and December 2022 in 32 private cancer centers in Brazil. Data were collected from medical records, encompassing demographics, cancer characteristics, and participation in the OPC program. The study involved 1980 patients, of which 32.3% were in the OPC program. OPC patients were predominantly younger (average age at death of 66.8 vs. 68.0 years old, p = 0.039) and composed of women (59.4% vs. 51.3%, p = 0.019) compared to the no-OPC patients. OPC patients had more home/hospice deaths (19.6% vs. 10.4%, p < 0.001), and participation in the outpatient palliative care program strongly predicted home death (OR: 2.02, 95% CI: 1.54–2.64). Our findings suggest a significant impact of the OPC program on increasing home and hospice deaths among patients with cancer in our sample. These findings emphasize the potential of specialized OPC programs to enhance end-of-life care, particularly in low-resource countries facing challenges related to social and cultural dimensions of care and healthcare access. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Subjects :
- CANCER treatment
MIDDLE-income countries
HEALTH services accessibility
PALLIATIVE treatment
OUTPATIENT services in hospitals
PLACE of death
EVALUATION of human services programs
CANCER patients
RETROSPECTIVE studies
DESCRIPTIVE statistics
ODDS ratio
QUALITY of life
MEDICAL records
ACQUISITION of data
TERMINAL care
CONFIDENCE intervals
SPECIALTY hospitals
LOW-income countries
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 20726694
- Volume :
- 16
- Issue :
- 7
- Database :
- Complementary Index
- Journal :
- Cancers
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 176598025
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers16071380