• Lara Pivodic, Tinne Smets, Nele Van den Noortgate, Bregje D Onwuteaka-Philipsen, Yvonne Engels, Katarzyna Szczerbińska, Harriet Finne-Soveri, Katherine Froggatt, Giovanni Gambassi, Luc Deliens, and Lieve Van den Block.
• 1 End-of-Life Care Research Group, Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) and Ghent University, Brussels and Ghent, Belgium.
• Palliat Med. 2018 Dec 1; 32 (10): 1584-1595.

BackgroundNursing homes are among the most common places of death in many countries.AimTo determine the quality of dying and end-of-life care of nursing home residents in six European countries.DesignEpidemiological survey in a proportionally stratified random sample of nursing homes. We identified all deaths of residents of the preceding 3-month period. Main outcomes: quality of dying in the last week of life (measured using End-of-Life in Dementia Scales - Comfort Assessment while Dying (EOLD-CAD)); quality of end-of-life care in the last month of life (measured using Quality of Dying in Long-Term Care (QoD-LTC) scale). Higher scores indicate better quality.Setting/ParticipantsThree hundred and twenty-two nursing homes in Belgium, Finland, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland and England. Participants were staff (nurses or care assistants) most involved in each resident's care.ResultsStaff returned questionnaires regarding 1384 (81.6%) of 1696 deceased residents. The End-of-Life in Dementia Scales - Comfort Assessment while Dying mean score (95% confidence interval) (theoretical 14-42) ranged from 29.9 (27.6; 32.2) in Italy to 33.9 (31.5; 36.3) in England. The Quality of Dying in Long-Term Care mean score (95% confidence interval) (theoretical 11-55) ranged from 35.0 (31.8; 38.3) in Italy to 44.1 (40.7; 47.4) in England. A higher End-of-Life in Dementia Scales - Comfort Assessment while Dying score was associated with country ( p = 0.027), older age ( p = 0.012), length of stay ⩾1 year ( p = 0.034), higher functional status ( p < 0.001). A higher Quality of Dying in Long-Term Care score was associated with country ( p < 0.001), older age ( p < 0.001), length of stay ⩾1 year ( p < 0.001), higher functional status ( p = 0.002), absence of dementia ( p = 0.001), death in nursing home ( p = 0.033).ConclusionThe quality of dying and quality of end-of-life care in nursing homes in the countries studied are not optimal. This includes countries with high levels of palliative care development in nursing homes such as Belgium, the Netherlands and England.

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