Palliative Care in the Ageing European Population: A Cross-Country Comparison-Reference-Cited by-同舟云学术

Palliative Care in the Ageing European Population: A Cross-Country Comparison

Published:2024-01-19 Issue:1 Volume:21 Page:113
ISSN:1660-4601
Container-title:International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
language:en
Short-container-title:IJERPH

Author:

Cerullo Giovanni¹²³^ORCID,Figueiredo Teodora⁴⁵⁶^ORCID,Coelho Constantino⁴⁵⁶,Campos Cláudia Silva⁴⁵⁶,Videira-Silva António⁷⁸⁹^ORCID,Carrilho Joana⁴⁵⁶^ORCID,Midão Luís⁴⁵⁶^ORCID,Costa Elísio⁴⁵⁶^ORCID

Affiliation:

1. Palliative Care, Centro Hospitalar Universitário do Algarve, 8000-386 Algarve, Portugal

2. Faculty of Medicine, University of Coimbra, 3000-548 Coimbra, Portugal

3. Faculty of Medicine, University of Porto, 4200-319 Porto, Portugal

4. CINTESIS@RISE, Biochemistry Lab, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Porto, 4050-313 Porto, Portugal

5. Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Porto, 4050-313 Porto, Portugal

6. Porto4Ageing—Competences Centre on Active and Healthy Ageing, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Porto, 4050-313 Porto, Portugal

7. Pediatric University Clinic, Faculty of Medicine, University of Lisbon, 1649-028 Lisbon, Portugal

8. Research Centre in Physical Activity, Health and Leisure, Faculty of Sport, University of Porto, 4200-450 Porto, Portugal

9. Centro de Investigação em Desporto, Educação Física, Exercício e Saúde (CIDEFES), Universidade Lusófona, 1749-024 Lisbon, Portugal

Abstract

With Europe’s ageing population and rising demand for palliative care, it is crucial to examine the use of palliative care among older adults during their last years of life and understand the factors influencing their access and end-of-life circumstances. This study employed a cohort of SHARE participants aged 65 years or older who had passed away between Wave 6 (2015) and Wave 7 (2017). Information on death circumstances, palliative care utilization, and associated variables were analysed. The study revealed that nearly 13.0% of individuals across these countries died under palliative care, with Slovenia having the lowest rate (0.3%) and France the highest (30.4%). Palliative care utilization in the last 30 days before death was observed in over 24.0% of participants, with the Czech Republic having the lowest rate (5.0%) and Greece the highest (48.8%). A higher risk of using or dying in palliative care was significantly associated with cognitive impairment (low verbal fluency), physical inactivity, and good to excellent self-perceived health. This work highlights the urgent need for enhanced global access to palliative care and advocates for the cross-country comparison of effective practices within Europe, tailored to the unique healthcare needs of older adults.

Publisher

MDPI AG

Link

https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/21/1/113/pdf

Reference57 articles.

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