• Hyun Jung Jho, Yoon Jung Chang, Hye Young Song, Jin Young Choi, Yeol Kim, Eun Jung Park, Soo Jin Paek, and Hee Jae Choi.
• Palliative Care Clinic, Hospital, National Cancer Center, Goyang, Republic of Korea.
• Support Care Cancer. 2015 Sep 1; 23 (9): 2805-11.

PurposeWe aimed to explore the perceived timeliness of referral to hospice palliative care unit (HPCU) among bereaved family members in Korea and factors associated therewith.MethodsCross-sectional questionnaire survey was performed for bereaved family members of patients who utilized 40 designated HPCUs across Korea. The questionnaire assessed whether admission to the HPCU was "too late" or "appropriate" and the Good Death Inventory (GDI).ResultsA total of 383 questionnaires were analyzed. Of participants, 25.8 % replied that admission to HPCU was too late. Patients with hepatobiliary cancer, poor performance status, abnormal consciousness level, and unawareness of terminal status were significantly related with the too late perception. Family members with younger age and being a child of the patient were more frequently noted in the too late group. Ten out of 18 GDI scores were significantly lower in the too late group. Multiple logistic regression analysis revealed patients' unawareness of terminal status, shorter stay in the HPCU, younger age of bereaved family, and lower scores for two GDI items (staying in a favored place, living without concerning death or disease) were significantly associated with the too late group.ConclusionsTo promote timely HPCU utilization and better quality of end of life care, patients need to be informed of the terminal status and their preference should be respected.

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