Reduction in potentially inappropriate end-of-life hospital care for cancer patients during the COVID-19 pandemic: A retrospective population-based study

Sage Palliative Medicine & Chronic Care

This episode features Ellis Slotman (Netherlands Comprehensive Cancer Organisation (IKNL), Utrecht, the Netherlands)

What is already known about the topic?

• Potentially inappropriate end-of-life care in patients with cancer is still common.
• The COVID-19 pandemic has been shown to affect cancer diagnosis and treatment, but evidence on how the pandemic has affected end-of-life care is limited.

What this paper adds?

• The COVID-19 pandemic was associated with less potentially inappropriate care at the end of life in patients with cancer.
• The decline in potentially inappropriate end-of-life care was driven by fewer hospitalizations and intensive care unit admissions in the last month of life and fewer hospital deaths.

Implications for practice, theory, or policy

• The findings of this study raise important questions as to which pandemic related changes in end-of-life care delivery and decision making might be able to contribute to appropriate end-of-life care for future patients.
• Ensuring that awareness for triaging and advance care planning is maintained after the pandemic may be of great importance in this regard.

Full paper available from:

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/02692163231217373

If you would like to record a podcast about your published (or accepted) Palliative Medicine paper, please contact Dr Amara Nwosu:

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