Abstract
In the Western world, 60%-80% of all deaths occur in an institution. This study aimed to determine the main causes for the low proportion of deaths at home in Norway. A retrospective cohort study was conducted in six Norwegian municipalities. The study employed official statistics and structured interviews with key staff individuals (spring 2012). We included 41 individuals that received palliative home care; 21 died at home. The rate of deaths at home may be increased by an acceptance of death and confidence that home is a good, safe place to die. This study showed how challenging it was for the family and health personnel to be a fellow Pellegrino in the last steps of life. However, when physical distress is under control, and when a dying patient and his significant other genuinely wish for death at home, it is necessary to control physical distress. Greater holistic well-being may then be achieved at home than in the hospital.
Highlights
The concept of home evokes several associations
We found that few patients received more than 20 hours per week from the home care service, including those that required cancer nursing
The results from the six municipalities included in this study showed that it was possible to organize an acceptable death care at home when those on the health care team shared a common philosophy
Summary
The concept of home evokes several associations. “Longing for home” or “the feeling of home” has become a central part of our everyday understanding of the notion of home [1] [2]. In the early 20th century, a romantic concept of home emerged. Three important phenomena were identified as domestic constructs: privacy, identity, and familiarity [3]. Security is another value that people associate with the concept of home. They could be sheltered from stress that might worsen their condition [4]. People feel like themselves; there is no
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