The quality of end of life care for Danish cancer patients who have received specialized palliative: a national survey using the Danish version of VOICES-SF

Background National recommendations state that Danish patients with complex palliative needs should have access to specialized palliative care but little is known about the perceived quality of this care or end of life care in general. Aim To assess how end of life care was evaluated by the bereaved spouses and to investigate whether the perceived quality was associated with (1) quantity of specialized palliative care provided, (2) place of death, and (3) emotional state when completing the questionnaire. Design The bereaved spouses of 1584 cancer patients who had received specialized palliative care were invited to answer the Views Of Informal Carers - Evaluation of Services - Short Form (VOICES-SF) and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) approximately 3-9 months after the patient's death. Results A total of 787 (50%) of the invited spouses participated. In the last 3 months of the patient's life, the quality of all services taken together was rated as good, excellent, or outstanding in 83% of the cases and it was significantly associated with place of death (p = 0.0051, fewest considered it fair or poor if the patient died at home). In total, 93% reported that the patient died at the right place although only 74% died at the patient's preferred place. Higher levels of anxiety (p = 0.01) but not depression at the time of questionnaire completion was associated with lower satisfaction with the overall quality of care. Conclusion The quality of care was rated very highly by bereaved spouses of patients receiving specialized palliative care.

Automated summary

This study assessed the evaluation of end-of-life care by bereaved spouses of cancer patients who had received specialized palliative care. The results showed that the quality of care was rated very highly by the spouses, with the majority considering the services good or excellent. The place of death and levels of anxiety were found to be associated with the perceived quality of care.