[Nihon kōshū eisei zasshi] Japanese journal of public health
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Nihon Koshu Eisei Zasshi · May 1997
[Determinants associated with location of terminal care in the cancer patient].
Data relating to the place where terminal care was provided and where death was experienced were extracted from the charts of 100 terminally ill cancer patients who had been admitted to the first free-standing hospice in Japan. Of these 100 patients who died between October 1993 and May 1995, 91 patients died in the hospice, five in the hospital, and only four at home. ⋯ Using multiple logistic regression, three factors are identified as significantly impedimental to staying at home: high morphine dosage (> 60 mg daily oral morphine equivalence), direct transfer from hospital to hospice, and living on the second or upper floors in an apartment building. The data suggest that the development of palliative home care and improvement of housing environment may enable cancer patients to spend more time at home during their terminal phase.