Visiting Nursing Care for Terminal Cancer and Non-Cancer Patients: A Study of Visiting Times and Frequencies during the Last 7 Days of a Patients’ Life

Abstract

This study aimed to evaluate visiting nursing care for terminal dying-at-home patients during the last 7 days of the patient’s life by comparing the causes of death (cancer and non-cancer) and the total duration and frequencies of the home visits. The managers of visiting nursing stations and the nurses who attended at the patients’ deathbed were surveyed using a postal questionnaire, followed by a comparative analysis of cancer and non-cancer patients. The average number of deaths per month that occurred in the presence of the visiting nurse was 1.6 (±1.2). On comparing cancer and non-cancer patients, significant differences were observed in patient age, total duration of visiting nursing care services, and duration of nurses’ visits on the day of death and the preceding 5 days. Our findings demonstrated differences in the duration of home visits by nurses when the patient was nearing death depending upon whether it was a cancer or non-cancer patient. Further investigation is necessary in order to clarify these patterns.