Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34264956›Full record

ArticlePloS one2021

Determinants of the number of days people in the general population spent at home during end-of-life: Results from a population-based cohort analysis.

Albert Dalmau-Bueno, Anna García-Altés, Jordi Amblàs, Joan Carles Contel, Sebastià Santaeugènia

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in PloS one, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
6citing papers in PubMed
0.8field-weighted citation impact, top 26% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

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.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

6 citing papers in PubMed, 6 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. End-of-life care in the home: A realistic or unachievable goal?Asia-Pacific journal of oncology nursing · 2025
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Albert Dalmau-BuenoCatalan Agency for Health Quality and Evaluation (AQuAS), Barcelona, Spain.
Anna García-AltésCatalan Agency for Health Quality and Evaluation (AQuAS), Barcelona, Spain.
Jordi AmblàsCentral Catalonia Chronicity Research Group (C3RG), Centre for Health and Social Care Research (CESS), University of Vic-Central University of Catalonia (UVIC-UCC), Vic, Spain.ORCID 0000-0002-2338-3054
Joan Carles ContelCentral Catalonia Chronicity Research Group (C3RG), Centre for Health and Social Care Research (CESS), University of Vic-Central University of Catalonia (UVIC-UCC), Vic, Spain.
Sebastià SantaeugèniaCentral Catalonia Chronicity Research Group (C3RG), Centre for Health and Social Care Research (CESS), University of Vic-Central University of Catalonia (UVIC-UCC), Vic, Spain.ORCID 0000-0002-2725-4065
Universitat de Vic - Universitat Central de Catalunya · ESAgència de Qualitat i Avaluació Sanitàries de Catalunya · ES

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe number of days spent at home in the last six months of life has been proposed as a comprehensive indicator of high-value patient-centered care; however, information regarding the determinants of this outcome is scarce, particularly among the general population. We investigated the determinants of spending time at home within the six months preceding death.

methodsPopulation-based, retrospective analysis of administrative databases of the Catalan government. The analysis included adult (≥18 years) individuals who died in Catalonia (North-east Spain) in 2017 and met the McNamara criteria for palliative care. The primary outcome was the number of days spent at home within the last 180 days of life. Other variables included the cause of death, demographic characteristics, and socioeconomic status, stratified as very low, low, mid, and high level.

resultsThe analysis included 40,137 individuals (19,510 women; 20,627 men), who spent a median of 140 days (IQR 16-171) at home within the six months preceding death (women 140 [16-171]; men 150 [100-171]). Female gender was an independent factor of staying fewer days at home (OR 0.80 [95% CI 0.77-0.82]; p<0.001). Higher socioeconomic levels were significantly associated with an increasing number of days at home in both genders: among women, ORs of the low, middle, and high levels were 1.09 (0.97-1.22), 1.54 (1.36-1.75), and 2.52 (1.69-3.75) (p<0.001), respectively; the corresponding ORs among men were 1.27 (1.12-1.43), 1.56 (1.38-1.77), 2.82 (2.04-3.88) (p<0.001). The presence of dementia was a strong predictor of spending less time at home in women (0.41 (0.38-0.43); p<0.001) and men (0.45 (0.41-0.48); p<0.001).

conclusionsOur results suggest that end-of-life care is associated with gender and socioeconomic inequalities; women and individuals with lower socioeconomic status spend less time at home within the last 180 days of life.

Indexed as

AgedAge FactorsDeathFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedRetrospective StudiesSex FactorsSocioeconomic FactorsSpainTerminal CareTime Factors

Identifiers

PMID34264956
PMCPMC8282074
OpenAlexW3177881626

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

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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.