Reasons of Transfer in Emergency Units of Patients in End of Life Situation. (CACTUS)

Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Besancon

Status

Completed

Conditions

End of Life

Palliative Care

Treatments

Other: Semi-structured interviews

Study type

Observational

Funder types

Other

Identifiers

NCT02861469

P/2015/246

Details and patient eligibility

About

This qualitative study aimed to describe and understand the factors leading to the admission in emergency unit of patients coming from their home, in an end of life situation.

This study was conducted in the university hospital of Besançon, France. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with general practitioners and family members in order to understand the factors leading, from their points of view, to the admission in emergency unit whereas this hospitalization wasn't necessary.

Enrollment

21 patients

Sex

All

Ages

18+ years old

Volunteers

No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

FOR PATIENTS :
aged of 18 yo or more
Admitted in the emergency unit of the university hospital of Besançon
who died within the 3 days following their admission in the emergency unit
who died of a chronic disease in terminal phase
for whom therapeutic goals were only focused on comfort
living at their home or at their family's home before their transfer in emergency unit
accompanied by at least one main carer (family member or friend) and one general practitioner during the last weeks before death
FOR MAIN CARERS :
Family members or friends of the patient
who were the main carers of the patient during his/her last weeks
speaking easily in french
who agreed for being interviewed and whom psychic and emotional state is compatible with a interview
living within 80km from Besançon
FOR GENERAL PRACTITIONERS :
who were the main medical actor for the patient during his/her last weeks
who agreed for being interviewed
working within 80km from Besançon

Exclusion criteria

FOR PATIENTS :
Patients who expressed a wish to not die at home
Patients who died because of any other medical event than predictable death following the terminal phase of a chronic disease
minors
FOR MAIN CARERS AND GENERAL PRACTITIONERS :
refusal to participate to the interviews