Hospitalisation in the last month of life and in-hospital death of nursing home residents: a cross-sectional analysis of six European countries

ObjectivesTo examine the rate and characteristics of hospitalisation in the last month of life and place of death among nursing home residents and to identify related care processes, facility factors and residents’ characteristics.SettingA cross-sectional study (2015) of deceased residents in 322 nursing homes in six European countries.ParticipantsThe nursing home manager (N=1634), physician (N=1132) and primary nurse (N=1384) completed questionnaires.Outcome measuresHospitalisation and place of death were analysed using generalised linear and logistic mixed models. Multivariate analyses were conducted to determine associated factors.ResultsTwelve to 26% of residents were hospitalised in the last month of life, up to 19% died in-hospital (p