Passive decision control preferences were less common (23%) than shared and active decision control preference even among developing countries. Significant predictors of passive decision control preferences were performance status, education, and country of origin.

The findings of this study indicate that inaccurate perception of curability among advanced cancer patients is 55%. Inaccurate perception of curability significantly differs by gender, education, performance status, employment status, and country of origin. There is great need to facilitate improved patient-physician communication so as to improve health care outcomes and patient satisfaction.

Introdução: A Organização Mundial da Saúde estima que até 2030 ocorrerão 27 milhões de novos casos de câncer no mundo. Em 2017, esperava-se em torno de 597 mil novos casos no Brasil com letalidade de 70%. Os cuidados paliativos incluem os cuidados de final de vida, e o controle dos sintomas físicos é um dos focos de suas ações. Eventualmente, os sintomas podem se tornar refratários. Para esses casos, existe a opção da terapia de sedação paliativa (TSP), que é o uso de fármacos para reduzir ou abolir a consciência do paciente com o objetivo de aliviar o sofrimento. Estudos demonstram que o uso da técnica adequada do procedimento não encurta a vida do paciente. Objetivo: Identificar o perfil dos pacientes que receberam TSP no final da vida. Método: Estudo observacional retrospectivo com coleta de dados em prontuário dos pacientes falecidos na unidade de cuidados paliativos de um hospital de câncer no ano de 2015. Foram coletados dados demográficos, proporção de pacientes que necessitaram de TSP, indicações mais frequentes, drogas mais utilizadas, doses médias usadas, se discussões com família e/ou equipe foram realizadas, duração da TSP em dias e sobrevida do paciente até o óbito. Resultados: Em 2015, ocorreram 919 óbitos; 198 (21,5%) receberam TSP; 55,1% do sexo feminino; média de idade de 55 anos. Os sintomas mais frequentes no momento da indicação foram dispneia (64,1%), dor (36,3%) e outros sintomas (30,3%). A droga mais utilizada foi o midazolam (98%) e a modalidade mais utilizada foi de sedação contínua (75,8%).

Background Little is known about place of death in Latin America, although this data are crucial for health system planning. This study aims to describe place of death and associated factors in Latin America and to identify factors that contribute to inter-country differences in place of death. Methods We conducted a total population observational study using death certificates of the total annual decedent populations in 12 countries (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Ecuador, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, and Uruguay) for the most recent available year (2016, 2017, or 2018). Data were analysed regarding place of death and multivariable logistic regression with place of death as the dependent variable was used to examine associated clinical and sociodemographic factors (independent variables) in each of the countries. Results The total study sample was 2 994 685 deaths; 31.3% of deaths occurred at home, and 57.6% in hospitals. A strong variation was found among the countries with home deaths ranging from 20% (Brazil) to 67.9% (Guatemala) and hospital deaths from 22.3% (Guatemala) to 69.5% (Argentina). These differences between countries remained largely unchanged after controlling for sociodemographic factors and causes of death. The likelihood of dying at home was consistently higher with increasing age, for those living in a rural area, and for those with a lower educational level (except in Argentina). Conclusions Most deaths in Latin America occur in hospitals, with a strong variation between countries. As clinical and sociodemographic factors included in this study did not explain country differences, other factors such as policy and health care system seem to have a crucial impact on where people die in Latin America.

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.