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Characteristics influencing location of death for children with life-limiting illness

Emily Chang1, Rod MacLeod, Ross Drake

  • 1Starship Palliative Care Service, Starship Children's Health, Auckland City Hospital, Private Bag, 92024, Auckland 1142, New Zealand. emschang@yahoo.co.nz

Archives of Disease in Childhood
|April 20, 2013
PubMed

Insights

Most children with life-limiting illnesses in New Zealand die in hospital. Ethnic background, diagnosis, and paediatric palliative care (PPC) referral significantly influence where children die, impacting end-of-life care planning.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Oncology
  • Palliative Care
  • Public Health

Background:

  • Life-limiting illnesses affect children and young people, necessitating tailored end-of-life care strategies.
  • Understanding the determinants of place of death is crucial for optimizing care delivery and resource allocation.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate demographic and diagnostic factors associated with the location of death in children with life-limiting illnesses in New Zealand.
  • To analyze the influence of ethnicity, diagnosis, and paediatric palliative care (PPC) referral on place of death.

Main Methods:

  • A population-level case series utilizing mortality records from New Zealand (2006-2009).
  • Analysis of sociodemographic characteristics, diagnosis, and PPC referral for association with location of death (home, hospital, other).
  • Inclusion of children aged 28 days to 18 years with life-limiting illnesses.

Main Results:

  • Over half of the children (53.6%) died in hospital, while 41.9% died at home.
  • Asian and Pacific children had a higher risk of hospital death compared to European children.
  • Cancer diagnosis and referral to PPC services were associated with a decreased risk of hospital death.

Conclusions:

  • The location of death for children with life-limiting illnesses in New Zealand is significantly influenced by ethnic background, diagnosis, and PPC referral.
  • Findings highlight the need for equitable resourcing of PPC services and tailored end-of-life care approaches.
  • Implications for healthcare policy and service provision to improve end-of-life care for children and their families.
Abstract

Keywords:
Paediatric PracticePalliative Care

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