Table 3 Preference for place of death, treatment priorities and decision making
London | Dublin | New York | All | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
(N = 64) | (N = 59) | (N = 15) | (N = 138) | ||
Most preferred place of death1 | |||||
Home | 42 66% | 28 47% | 7 47% | 77 56% | |
Home of a relative or friend | 0 0% | 0 0% | 0 0% | 0 0% | |
Palliative care unit or inpatient hospice | 12 19% | 14 24% | 5 33% | 31 22% | |
Hospital | 2 3% | 4 7% | 0 0% | 6 4% | |
Nursing home or residential home | 1 2% | 2 3% | 0 0% | 3 2% | |
Elsewhere | 4 6% | 1 2% | 1 7% | 6 4% | |
Don’t know/prefer not to say | 3 5% | 10 17% | 2 13% | 15 11% | |
Least preferred place of death2 | |||||
Home | 8 13% | 10 17% | 4 27% | 22 16% | |
Home of a relative or friend | 9 14% | 3 5% | 0 0% | 12 9% | |
Palliative care unit or inpatient hospice | 5 8% | 1 2% | 0 0% | 6 4% | |
Hospital | 18 28% | 15 25% | 2 13% | 35 25% | |
Nursing home or residential home | 17 27% | 6 10% | 4 27% | 27 20% | |
Somewhere else | 1 2% | 8 14% | 2 13% | 11 8% | |
Don’t know/prefer not to say | 6 8% | 16 27% | 3 20% | 25 18% | |
Treatment goal priority: quantity or quality of lifea3 | |||||
To extend life | 1 2% | 3 5% | 0 0% | 4 3% | |
To improve the quality of life for time left | 38 59% | 30 51% | 6 40% | 74 54% | |
Both are equally important | 23 36% | 24 41% | 7 47% | 54 39% | |
Don’t know/prefer not to say | 2 3% | 2 3% | 2 13% | 5 4% | |
Person who makes decisions about careb4 | |||||
Herself/himself | 62 97% | 48 81% | 10 67% | 120 87% | |
Spouse or partner | 22 34% | 17 29% | 2 13% | 41 30% | |
Other relatives | 37 58% | 31 53% | 7 47% | 75 54% | |
Friends | 6 9% | 0 0% | 1 7% | 7 5% | |
The doctor | 18 28% | 11 19% | 0 0% | 29 21% | |