Indicators of poor quality end-of-life cancer care in Ontario.

Full Abstract

This study measures the proportion of cancer patients in Ontario, Canada, with intensive care unit (ICU) admissions, emergency room (ER) visits, or chemotherapy in the last two weeks of life. We used the Ontario Cancer Registry to identify a cohort of cancer patients who died in 2001. These cases were then linked to administrative sources of data to measure each indicator, and to describe the associated clinical and health service factors. In the cohort, 27% had at least one ER visit and 5% had an ICU visit in the last two weeks of life. Of those who received chemotherapy in the last six months, 16% received chemotherapy in the last two weeks of life. Receiving a home care visit in the last six months of life, or a physician house call or a palliative care assessment in the last two weeks of life was consistently associated with decreased odds of each of the indicators. Our results indicate that a significant proportion of Ontario cancer patients have indicators of poor quality end-of-life care. Certain health care factors may influence these indicators.

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Author information

Author/s: Barbera, Lisa (L); Paszat, Lawrence (L); Chartier, Carole (C);

Affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article

Journal: Journal of palliative care (J Palliat Care), published in Canada. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2006-; vol 22 (issue 1) : pp 12-7

Dates: Created 2006/05/12; Completed 2006/06/12;

PMID: 16689410, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 12/26/2008)

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

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MeSH headings (categories)

This article was linked to the MESH Headings shown below.

Aged
Antineoplastic Agents - therapeutic use
Cause of Death
Community Health Planning
Comorbidity
Emergency Service, Hospital - organization & administration
Female
Health Services Research
House Calls - utilization
Humans
Income - statistics & numerical data
Intensive Care - organization & administration
Logistic Models

Logistic Models
Male
Medical Oncology - organization & administration
Middle Aged
Multivariate Analysis
Neoplasms - diagnosis; mortality; therapy
Ontario - epidemiology
Patient Admission - statistics & numerical data
Quality Indicators, Health Care - organization & administration
Registries
Residence Characteristics - statistics & numerical data
Retrospective Studies
Terminal Care - organization & administration

Associated Chemicals: Antineoplastic Agents (0)

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