Authors: Ri Yin Tay, Rozenne WK Choo, Wah Ying Ong, Allyn YM Hum

Published in: BMC Palliat Care. 2021 Oct 18;20(1):164. doi: 10.1186/s12904-021-00865-5. PMID: 34663303; PMCID: PMC8522009

Summary points:

1. Despite the majority’s preference for care at home at the end of life, satisfying the preferences of patients with advanced cancer for terminal care at home can be challenging.  
   
2. Male patients receiving integrated home-based palliative care were more likely to be hospitalised, while single or divorced patients with younger family caregivers were more likely to receive terminal care in the inpatient hospice. Patients with higher functional status, worse pain, with a preference for non-home death had a higher likelihood of being in an institution for their final place of care. The concordance between patients’ final place of care and their preferences was sub-optimal.  
   
3. To improve the likelihood of meeting patients’ preferences for the final place of care, collaborative interventions at the macro, meso and micro levels are needed.