A morte na USF Espinho em 2012

: vivências pessoas e familiares

Abstract

Introduction Studies show that most people would rather die in their homes. However, in Western countries, deaths in institutions have increased almost across the board, in recent decades, and several factors determining the place of death have been described. Similarly, die in the place of choice has been constituted as an indicator of quality because it may mean keeping the dignity and self-determination and, consequently, greater satisfaction of the terminally ill. Goals Describe the deaths occurred in Espinho Family Health Unit (FHU), during the year 2012, according to demographic and socioeconomic characteristics and causes of death, and verify its association with the place of death. Material and Methods Retrospective, quantitative and descriptive-correlational study. The population consisted of all patients enrolled in that FHU who died during the year 2012. The data were obtained through consultation of diverse bases of medical records. Methods of descriptive statistics and multivariate logistic regression were applied to study the association between the independent variables and the place of death. Results In 2012 died 123 people enrolled in Espinho FHU. The majority (92.2%) died of chronic diseases. About 39% of people died in their homes and 57% in the hospital. There was an association between the place of death and age, marital status, family type, socioeconomic status, functional status and type of disease. Multivariate logistic regression determined that belong to an extended family or other types of families and middle, upper-middle and high classes were predictors for death at home while suffering from oncological disease was a predictor of death at the hospital. Discussion / Conclusion The awareness of how the studied people died raises issues of organizational, social, cultural, ethical and ethics nature. Investment in Palliative Care, particularly at the level of training health professionals, education of politicians and general public and the provision of drugs, as recommended by the World Health Organization, is critical to improve the delivery of care at end of life to all citizens who need them.

Date of Award	2015
Original language	Portuguese
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Margarida Maria Vieira (Supervisor)