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

Abstract 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 socio-demographic characteristics, diagnoses, prognosis, and care plan were recorded and analysed. Results There were 2639 in-patients on the day of the study; 9.4... Mehr ...