ArticleBMC cancer2014
Care provided and care setting transitions in the last three months of life of cancer patients: a nationwide monitoring study in four European countries.
Article in BMC cancer, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 23 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
23 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 46 citations in OpenAlex.
- Geographic variations in place of death and palliative care utilisation in the last three months of life in high-income countries: a systematic review.BMC palliative care · 2025Pooled it
- Increasing the chance of dying at home: roles, tasks and approaches of general practitioners enabling palliative care: a systematic review of qualitative literature.BMC primary care · 2023Pooled it
- Family Caregiver Needs, Interventions, and Outcomes in Home-Based Cancer Palliative Care: A Scoping Review.Journal of multidisciplinary healthcare · 2026Review
- Social, health and lifestyle-related determinants of older adults' preferences for place of death in South Tyrol, Italy - a cross-sectional survey study.BMC geriatrics · 2024Article
- Factors Influencing the Implementation of Digital Advance Care Planning: Qualitative Interview Study.Journal of medical Internet research · 2024Article
- Collaboration, coordination and communication as facilitators of transitions for patients with advanced cancer: a scoping review linked to the Pal-Cycles project.BMC palliative care · 2024Article
- Exploring Health Care Professionals' Perceptions Regarding Shared Clinical Decision-Making in Both Acute and Palliative Cancer Care.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- Provision of end-of-life care in primary care: a survey of issues and outcomes in the Australian context.BMJ open · 2022Article
- Experiences of transitioning between settings of care from the perspectives of patients with advanced illness receiving specialist palliative care and their family caregivers: A qualitative interview study.Palliative medicine · 2022Article
- An online international comparison of palliative care identification in primary care using the Surprise Question.Palliative medicine · 2022Article
- Predictors of the final place of care of patients with advanced cancer receiving integrated home-based palliative care: a retrospective cohort study.BMC palliative care · 2021Article
- What are the risk factors for avoidable transitions in the last year of life? A qualitative exploration of professionals' perspectives for improving care in Germany.BMC health services research · 2021Article
- Health care utilization at end of life among patients with lung or pancreatic cancer. Comparison between two Swedish cohorts.PloS one · 2021Article
- Cancer and end of life: the management provided during the year and the month preceding death in 2015 and causes of death in France.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2020Article
- Conceptualizing and Counting Discretionary Utilization in the Final 100 Days of Life: A Scoping Review.Journal of pain and symptom management · 2020Article
- What are essential elements of high-quality palliative care at home? An interview study among patients and relatives faced with advanced cancer.BMC palliative care · 2019Article
- Integrated palliative care is about professional networking rather than standardisation of care: A qualitative study with healthcare professionals in 19 integrated palliative care initiatives in five European countries.Palliative medicine · 2018Article
- Improving palliative care provision in primary care: a pre- and post-survey evaluation among PaTz groups.The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 2018Article
- Intensity of treatment in Swiss cancer patients at the end-of-life.Cancer management and research · 2018Article
- Impact of intensity and timing of integrated home palliative cancer care on end-of-life hospitalization in Northern Italy.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2017Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
11 authors at 8 institutions in 4 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThis is an international study across four European countries (Belgium[BE], the Netherlands[NL], Italy[IT] and Spain[ES]) between 2009 and 2011, describing and comparing care and care setting transitions provided in the last three months of life of cancer patients, using representative GP networks.
methodsGeneral practitioners (GPs) of representative networks in each country reported weekly all non-sudden cancer deaths (+18y) within their practice. GPs reported medical end-of-life care, communication and circumstances of dying on a standardised questionnaire. Multivariate logistic regressions (BE as a reference category) were conducted to compare countries.
resultsOf 2,037 identified patients from four countries, four out of five lived at home or with family in their last year of life. Over 50% of patients had at least one transition in care settings in the last three months of life; one third of patients in BE, IT and ES had a last week hospital admission and died there. In the last week of life, a treatment goal was adopted for 80-95% of those having palliation/comfort as their treatment goal. Cross-country differences in end-of-life care provision included GPs in NL being more involved in palliative care (67%) than in other countries (35%-49%) (OR 1.9) and end-of-life topics less often discussed in IT or ES. Preference for place of death was less often expressed in IT and ES (32-34%) than in BE and NL (49-74%). Of all patients, 88-98% were estimated to have distress from at least one physical symptom in the final week of life.
conclusionAlthough palliative care was the main treatment goal for most cancer patients at the end of life in all four countries, frequent late hospital admissions and the symptom burden experienced in the last week of life indicates that further integration of palliative care into oncology care is required in many countries.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.