Place of Death and Associated Factors in 12 Latin American Countries: A Total Population Study Using Death Certificate Data

Objective. This paper assesses the availability and quality of death certificate data in Latin America and the feasibility of using these data to study place of death and associated factors. Methods. In this comparative study, we collected examples of current official death certificates and digital data files containing information about all deaths that occurred during 1 year in 19 Latin American countries. Data were collected from June 2019 to May 2020. The records for place of death and associated variables were studied. The criteria for data quality were completeness, number of ill-defined causes of death and timeliness. Results. All 19 countries provided copies of current official death certificates and 18 of these registered the place of death. Distinguishing among hospital or other health care institution, home and other was possible for all countries. Digital data files with death certificate data were available from 12 countries and 1 region. Three countries had data considered to be of high quality and seven had data considered to be of medium quality. Categories for place of death and most of the predetermined factors possibly associated with place of death were included in the data files. Conclusions. The quality of data sets was rated medium to high in 10 countries. Hence, death certificate data make it feasible to conduct an international comparative study on place of death and the associated factors in Latin America.

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International study of the place of death of people with cancer: a population-level comparison of 14 countries across 4 continents using death certificate data

British Journal of Cancer ◽

10.1038/bjc.2015.312 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 113 (9) ◽

pp. 1397-1404 ◽

Cited By ~ 108

Author(s):

J Cohen ◽

L Pivodic ◽

G Miccinesi ◽

B D Onwuteaka-Philipsen ◽

W A Naylor ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Death Certificate ◽

International Study ◽

Population Level ◽

Place Of Death ◽

Death Certificate Data

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Trends in place of death in a small developing country: a population-level study using death certificate data

Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health ◽

10.1136/jech-2019-213285 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. jech-2019-213285

Author(s):

Nicholas Jennings ◽

Kenneth Chambaere ◽

Luc Deliens ◽

Joachim Cohen

Keyword(s):

Trinidad And Tobago ◽

Death Certificate ◽

Population Level ◽

Place Of Death ◽

Death Certificate Data ◽

Care Facilities ◽

Government Hospitals ◽

Hospital Deaths ◽

Private Homes ◽

Level Analysis

BackgroundValuable information for planning future end-of-life care (EOLC) services and care facilities can be gained by studying trends in place of death (POD). Scarce data exist on the POD in small developing countries. This study aims to examine shifts in the POD of all persons dying between 1999 and 2010 in Trinidad and Tobago, to draw conclusions about changes in the distribution of POD over time and the possible implications for EOLC practice and policy.MethodsA population-level analysis of routinely collected death certificate data of the most recent available fully coded years at the time of the study—1999 to 2010. Observed proportions for the POD of all deaths were standardised according to the age, sex and cause of death distribution in 1999. Trends for a subgroup of persons who died from causes indicative of a palliative care (PC) need were also examined.ResultsThe proportion of deaths in government hospitals increased from 48.9% to 55.4% and decreased from 38.7% to 29.7% at private homes. There was little variation between observed and standardised rates. The decrease in home deaths was stronger when the PC subcategory was considered, most notably from cancer.ConclusionInternationally, the proportion of deaths at institutions is increasing. A national strategy on palliative and EOLC is needed to facilitate the increasing number of people who seek EOLC at government hospitals in Trinidad and Tobago, including an investigation into the reasons for the trend. Alternatives to accommodate out-of-hospital deaths can be considered.

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Place of death for people with HIV: a population-level comparison of eleven countries across three continents using death certificate data

BMC Infectious Diseases ◽

10.1186/s12879-018-2951-x ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 18 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

Richard Harding ◽

Stefano Marchetti ◽

Bregje D. Onwuteaka-Philipsen ◽

Donna M. Wilson ◽

Miguel Ruiz-Ramos ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Death Certificate ◽

Population Level ◽

Place Of Death ◽

Death Certificate Data

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Dementia care in Latin America — country profiles from Venezuela and Argentina

International Psychiatry ◽

10.1192/s1749367600004938 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 3 (4) ◽

pp. 6-8 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Aquiles Salas ◽

Raul L. Arizaga

Keyword(s):

Latin America ◽

Latin American ◽

Total Population ◽

Population Based ◽

Demographic Ageing ◽

World Region ◽

People With Dementia ◽

Latin America Country ◽

Dependent Elderly ◽

Latin American Countries

Demographic ageing is proceeding especially rapidly in Latin America. Those aged 65 years and over will increase from 33.3 million (6% of the total population) in 2005 to 56.3 million (8.5%) in 2020 and 110.2 million (14.7%) in 2040. A recent review drew attention to the relatively small number of population-based studies of dementia in Latin American countries (Ferri et al, 2005). Estimates based on the literature suggested 1.8 million people with dementia in 2001 increasing to 4.1 million by 2020 and 9.1 million by 2040. The increase, more than a doubling of the number of people with dementia between 2000 and 2020, was the most marked for any world region. Arguably, health and social finance systems are not well placed to meet the needs of the growing numbers of frail and dependent elderly people.

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Study of recent and future trends in place of death in Belgium using death certificate data: a shift from hospitals to care homes

BMC Public Health ◽

10.1186/1471-2458-11-228 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 84

Author(s):

Dirk Houttekier ◽

Joachim Cohen ◽

Johan Surkyn ◽

Luc Deliens

Keyword(s):

Death Certificate ◽

Place Of Death ◽

Care Homes ◽

Future Trends ◽

Death Certificate Data

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Place of death and associated factors: a population-based study using death certificate data

European Journal of Public Health ◽

10.1093/eurpub/cky267 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 29 (4) ◽

pp. 608-615 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

María José Cabañero-Martínez ◽

Andreu Nolasco ◽

Inmaculada Melchor ◽

Manuel Fernández-Alcántara ◽

Julio Cabrero-García

Keyword(s):

Marital Status ◽

Cause Of Death ◽

Death Certificate ◽

Population Based ◽

Place Of Death ◽

Population Based Study ◽

Urbanization Level ◽

Sociodemographic Variables ◽

Death Certificate Data ◽

At Home

Abstract Background Although studies suggest that most people prefer to die at home, not enough is known about place of death patterns by cause of death considering sociodemographic factors. The objective of this study was to determine the place of death in the population and to analyze the sociodemographic variables and causes of death associated with home as the place of death. Methods Cross-sectional population-based study. All death certificate data on the residents in Spain aged 15 or over who died in Spain between 2012 and 2015 were included. We employed multinomial logistic regression to explore the relation between place of death, sociodemographic variables and cause of death classified according to the International Classification of Diseases, 10th revision, and to conditions needing palliative care. Results Over half of all deaths occurred in hospital (57.4%), representing double the frequency of deaths that occurred at home. All the sociodemographic variables (sex, educational level, urbanization level, marital status, age and country of birth) were associated with place of death, although age presented the strongest association. Cause of death was the main predictor with heart disease, neurodegenerative disease, Alzheimer’s disease, dementia and senility accounting for the highest percentages of home deaths. Conclusions Most people die in hospital. Cause of death presented a stronger association with place of death than sociodemographic variables; of these latter, age, urbanization level and marital status were the main predictors. These results will prove useful in planning end-of-life care that is more closely tailored to people’s circumstances and needs.

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