Palliatieve inpatients in general hospitals : a one day observational study in Belgium

Background: Hospital care plays a major role at the end-of-life. But little is known about the overall size and characteristics of the palliative inpatient population. The aim of our study was to analyse these aspects. Methods: We conducted a one-day observational study in 14 randomly selected Belgian hospitals. Patients who met the definition of palliative patients were identified as palliative. Then, information about their sociodemographic characteristics, diagnoses, prognosis, and care plan were recorded and analysed. Results: There were 2639 in-patients on the day of the study; 9.4% of th... Mehr ...