The final moments of life for the majority of western Canadians are spent in an "artificial" hospital environment, despite evidence that most would rather die in the comfort of their own home, according to a new report.
The study, released Thursday by the Canadian Institute for Health Information, looked at 65,000 who died in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba in 2003-04. Almost 37,000 people, or 58 per cent, died in hospital.
"People like the comfort of their own home, their own bed, they like to have their family around them," said Dr. Stuart McMillan, a palliative care physician in Regina, adding the home environment is much less sterile and artificial than a hospital.
"I think one of the things (the study) tells us is that there are people who could possibly be looked after at home who are dying in hospitals," he said. "That raises questions about what can we do as a system to support those people more and their families more."
The study examined four categories of patients: terminal illness, organ failure, the frail and sudden deaths.
Researchers found that terminally ill people, such as those with cancer, were the most likely to die in a hospital.
In-hospital deaths were more common in Manitoba, at 68 per cent, and Alberta, at 65 per cent, than in B.C. and Saskatchewan, both just over 50 per cent.
"I think what this study suggests is there is a considerable variation in dying at home," said Anne McFarlane, the institute's executive director for Western Canada.
source: medbroadcast.com
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