Associations between Japanese People's Concern about Family Caregiver Burden and Preference for End-Of-Life Care Location

• DOI: 10.1177/082585971302900104
• Publication Date: 2018-12-19T09:03:50Z
• Authors: Sakiko Fukui; Junko Fujita; Kazuhiro Yoshiuchi
• Keywords: Adult; Male; Terminal Care; Palliative Care; Patient Preference; Middle Aged; 3. Good health; 03 medical and health sciences; Cross-Sectional Studies; Logistic Models; Asian People; Caregivers; Cost of Illness; Japan; Multivariate Analysis; Humans; Female; 0305 other medical science; Aged

Through a cross-sectional nationwide survey, this study identified the associations between Japanese people's choice of end-of-life care location and their sense of being a burden or a source of concern to their family members. A total of 1,042 people responded to the survey (a response rate of 55 percent). Of these, 44 percent said they would prefer to receive end-of-life care at home, 15 percent in hospital, 19 percent in a palliative care unit, 10 percent in a public nursing home, and 2 percent in a private nursing home. Multinomial logistic regression analysis revealed that those who thought it most important to relieve caregiver burden on family members tended to prefer a palliative care unit or a public nursing home to their own homes; those who were most concerned about the effect their death would have on their family members tended to prefer a hospital or a palliative care unit to their own homes. These findings may assist in the development of a more effective end-of-life care system in Japan and in other countries.