Study on the factors determining home death of patients during home care: A historical cohort study at a home care support clinic

AIM: Associations between markedly low activities of daily living (ADL) at the start of home visit care and patient home death were analyzed using data from a home care support clinic in Japan that has a low rate of home deaths. METHODS: The study was a historical cohort study. It involved patients who began to receive home visit care from a home visit care support clinic between 1 April 2006 and 31 March 2011. Using home death as a dependent variable and presence/absence of markedly low ADL and other parameters (cancer, the patient's desire for home death, etc.) as independent variables, the adjusted hazard ratio and 95% confidence interval (CI) were calculated using the Cox proportional hazards model. RESULTS: Markedly low ADL were associated with home death even after adjustment for factors that influence home death (adjusted hazard ratio 4.40; 95% CI 2.37-8.16). Cancer and the patient's desire for home death were statistically significant factors involved in home death. In a subgroup analysis according to the presence/absence of cancer, the association between markedly low ADL and home death was stronger in the cancer-free group (adjusted hazard ratio 10.78; 95% CI 2.89-40.26) than in the cancer group (adjusted hazard ratio 5.58; 95% CI2.39-13.05). CONCLUSION: Patients' desire for home death could be fulfilled if home care support clinics provide home visit services to not only terminal-stage cancer patients, but also bedridden cancer-free patients. We must establish systems for older adults to remain at home during the terminal period of their lives.