Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2016 May;30(5):434-45.
doi: 10.1177/0269216315602590. Epub 2015 Sep 1.

Does the use of specialist palliative care services modify the effect of socioeconomic status on place of death? A systematic review

Hong Chen  1 , Donald J Nicolson  2 , Una Macleod  3 , Victoria Allgar  4 , Christopher Dalgliesh  3 , Miriam Johnson  3
Affiliations

Does the use of specialist palliative care services modify the effect of socioeconomic status on place of death? A systematic review

Hong Chen et al. Palliat Med. 2016 May.

Abstract

Background: Cancer patients in lower socioeconomic groups are significantly less likely to die at home and experience more barriers to access to palliative care. It is unclear whether receiving palliative care may mediate the effect of socioeconomic status on place of death.

Aim: This review examines whether and how use of specialist palliative care may modify the effect of socioeconomic status on place of death.

Design: A systematic review was conducted. Eligible papers were selected and the quality appraised by two independent reviewers. Data were synthesised using a narrative approach.

Data sources: MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL, PsycINFO and Web of Knowledge were searched (1997-2013). Bibliographies were scanned and experts contacted. Papers were included if they reported the effect of both socioeconomic status and use of specialist palliative care on place of death for adult cancer patients.

Results: Nine studies were included. All study subjects had received specialist palliative care. With regard to place of death, socioeconomic status was found to have (1) no effect in seven studies and (2) an effect in one study. Furthermore, one study found that the effect of socioeconomic status on place of death was only significant when patients received standard specialist palliative care. When patients received more intense care adapted to their needs, the effect of socioeconomic status on place of death was no longer seen.

Conclusion: There is some evidence to suggest that use of specialist palliative care may modify the effect of socioeconomic status on place of death.

Keywords: Socioeconomic factors; neoplasms; palliative care; place of death; review.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of conflicting interests: The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship and/or publication of this article.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
PRISMA flow chart for Q1 and Q2.
None
None
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Tang ST, McCorkle R. Determinants of place of death for terminal cancer patients. Cancer Invest 2001; 19(2): 165–180. - PubMed
    1. Foreman LM, Hunt RW, Luke CG, et al. Factors predictive of preferred place of death in the general population of South Australia. Palliative Med 2006; 20: 447–453. - PubMed
    1. Decker SL, Higginson IJ. A tale of two cities: factors affecting place of cancer death in London and New York. Eur J Public Health 2007; 17: 285–290. - PubMed
    1. Higginson IJ, Costantini M. Dying with cancer, living well with advanced cancer. Eur J Cancer 2008; 44: 1414–1424. - PubMed
    1. Gomes B, Calanzani N, Higginson IJ. Reversal of the British trends in place of death: time series analysis 2004–2010. Palliative Med 2012; 26(2): 102–107. - PubMed

Publication types