Patterns in place of cancer death in the State of Qatar: a population-based study

Background International studies show that most people prefer to die at home; however, hospitals remain the most common place of death (PoD). This study aims to investigate the patterns in PoD and the associated factors, which are crucial for end-of-life cancer care enhancement. Method This retrospective, population-based study analyzed all registered cancer deaths in Qatar between January 1, 2006 and December 31, 2012 (n = 1,224). The main outcome measures were patient characteristics: age, gender, nationality, cancer diagnosis, year of death, and PoD. Time trends for age-standardized proportions of death in individual PoDs were evaluated using chi-square analysis. Odds ratio (OR) were determined for variables associated with the most preferred (acute palliative care unit [APCU] and hematology/oncology ward) versus least preferred (ICU and general medicine ward) PoDs in Qatar, stratified by nationality. Results The hematology/oncology ward was the most common PoD (32.4%; 95% CI 26.7–35.3%) followed by ICU (31.4%; 95% CI 28.7–34.3%), APCU (26.9%; 95% CI 24.3–29.6%), and general medicine ward (9.2%; 95% CI 7.6–11.1%). APCU trended upward (+0.057/year; p