Place of death in metropolitan regions: metropolitan versus non-metropolitan variation in place of death in Belgium, the Netherlands and England

Houttekier, Dirk, Cohen, Joachim, Bilsen, Johan, Addington-Hall, Julia, Onwuteaka-Philipsen, Bregje and Deliens, Luc (2010) Place of death in metropolitan regions: metropolitan versus non-metropolitan variation in place of death in Belgium, the Netherlands and England. Health & Place, 16 (1), 132-139. (doi:10.1016/j.healthplace.2009.09.005).

Abstract

Place of death is an important societal indicator of end-of-life quality for the terminally ill. Using death certificate data, we examined metropolitan/non-metropolitan variation in place of death of patients with life-limiting conditions in Belgium, The Netherlands and England. Metropolitan patients were less likely to die at home and, in England, less likely to die in care homes, than non-metropolitan terminally ill. We found a lesser degree of social support and lower availability of care home beds as partial explanations of the metropolitan/non-metropolitan discrepancy. These findings warrant specific approaches to end-of-life care in metropolitan areas.

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