Where do the elderly die? The impact of nursing home utilisation on the place of death. Observations from a mortality cohort study in Flanders

Abstract Background Most of the research concerning place of death focuses on terminally ill patients (cancer patients) while the determinants of place of death of the elderly of the general population are not intensively studied. Studies showed the influence of gender, age, social-economical status and living arrangements on the place of death, but a facet not taken into account so far is the influence of the availability of nursing homes. Methods We conducted a survey of deaths, between January 1999 and December 2000 in a small densely populated area in Belgium, with a high availability of n... Mehr ...