• Sofia Andersson, Olav Lindqvist, Carl-Johan Fürst, and Margareta Brännström.
• Department of Nursing, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden.
• Scand J Caring Sci. 2017 Mar 1; 31 (1): 72-84.

BackgroundIn Europe, residential care homes (RCHs) are replacing hospitals as the place where death occurs, and they play an important role in end-of-life (EOL) care.ObjectiveThe aim was to describe the quality of care during the last 3 months and last 3 days of life of those who died in RCHs as reported by family members. We also investigated whether there were differences in the EOL care of younger patients (<85 years) vs. the oldest old patients (≥85 years) as reported by family members.DesignA retrospective survey design.MethodsDeaths (n = 189) at 19 RCHs in one municipality in Sweden were included. Family members were sent the VOICES questionnaire 1 month after their elderly relative had died. Descriptive statistics were used.ResultsIn the last 3 days before death, most family members reported there was enough help with nursing (93%) and personal care (78.5%). Among the family members, 86% were told that the resident was likely to die shortly. Most (94.1%) of residents were reported to have died at their preferred place. No significant difference was found between age groups. Family members also reported that about half of the elderly had pain (46.5%) and 86.4% received treatment; 55.9% had breathlessness and 39.7% received treatment. Breathlessness was significantly (p = 0.01) more common in the younger group, and they were treated more often (p = 0.006) than the oldest old.ConclusionThis study revealed an overall positive picture of personal and nursing care and communication. These findings indicate that the quality of EOL care at RCHs is high. Inadequate management was found for symptom relief the last days of life. This suggests that this subject merits further attention by care professionals. To achieve better quality of EOL care at RCHs, we emphasise the importance of systematically working to improve symptom relief.© 2016 Nordic College of Caring Science.

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