Dying at home leads to more peace and less grief, but requires wider support

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2015-10/bc-dah100615.php

Public Release: 8-Oct-2015
Dying at home leads to more peace and less grief, but requires wider support
Dying at home could be beneficial for terminally ill cancer patients and their relatives, according to research published in the open-access journal BMC Medicine
BioMed Central

Dying at home could be beneficial for terminally ill cancer patients and their relatives, according to research published in the open access journal BMC Medicine.

The study shows that, according to questionnaires completed by their relatives, those who die at home experience more peace and a similar amount of pain compared to those who die in hospital, and their relatives also experience less grief. However, this requires discussion of preferences, access to a comprehensive home care package and facilitation of family caregiving.

Previous studies have shown that most people would prefer to die at home. In the UK, US and Canada, slightly more appear to be realising this wish, while in Japan, Germany, Greece and Portugal, a trend towards institutionalised dying persists.

Despite differing trends, the most frequent location of death for cancer patients remains hospital. Evidence regarding whether dying at home is better or worse than in hospital has, however, been inconsistent.

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