Every second person wants to die at home

Majority of Germans wish for terminal care

02/19/2014

According to a recent survey, the majority of Germans do not wish to die alone, but to be accompanied by their life partner or family member. For some people, a hospice is an alternative.

Life partner and family as a dying companion
About every second German (49 percent) wishes to die at home. In addition, 61 percent do not want to be alone in their last hours. This was the result of a representative survey by the Center for Quality in Nursing (ZQP). According to this, 82 percent of the respondents want to have their partner with them at the last moment of their life. Seventy percent of respondents said they wanted to surround their family. And one in five (20 percent) was in favor of being alone in the eye-block of death. Only three or four percent could imagine dying in a hospital or nursing home. According to ZQP, however, the reality is somewhat different, with an estimated 65 to 75 percent of people in inpatient facilities in Germany dying.

Hospice is an alternative for some people
At 27 percent, almost one out of every three people said they wanted to die in a hospice. Of those respondents who have already had experience of caring for or caring for a relative in their own lives, 70 percent would like to die accompanied. And 56 percent of those who have not had that experience yet. One in four respondents (25 percent) stated that they were also accompanied by a professional nurse. However, only 18 percent would consider pastoral or spiritual accompaniment, such as a pastor.

Fear of pain
For the majority of respondents (86 percent), the most important factor in end-of-life care is the maximum possible relief of distressing symptoms such as pain, shortness of breath or nausea. And the accompaniment in dealing with fear and grief also consider two-thirds of the respondents particularly relevant. In addition, more than every second person attaches great importance to the counseling and support of family caregivers. It is very important to 63 percent that aids and medical devices are available so that they can stay home until the very end. Generally, pain is the biggest concern associated with dying. For example, 78 percent of respondents said they had great concerns about dying in pain or other distressing symptoms. And 57 percent are scared to leave people alone.

Still doing things that make you happy
According to the survey, 94 percent of people also consider it important to be able to do things they enjoy even during the dying phase. And 92 percent want to be able to decide on the treatment and care measures themselves. Of those who have cared for or accompanied a dying person, 72 percent consider the care of the dying, such as doctors, caregivers or the social environment, to be rather good or even very good. Of the respondents, 42 percent said that they had already cared for or accompanied a dying person or that they are currently doing so. For the survey, the Forsa Institute interviewed 1007 people in October about their ideas of dying.

Life to the end in dignity and self-determination
The CEO of ZQP, Dr. Ing. Ralf Suhr, points in connection with the survey on the benefits and problems of palliative care in this country: „A good palliative care allows people to live their lives with dignity and self-determination, even with severe restrictions. The seriously ill, older people, however, often have insufficient access to appropriate support. Increasing and typical geriatric diseases such. For example, dementia is still rarely considered a field of intervention for palliative care, or it is often considered too late in these cases.“ A good, need-oriented palliative medical care helps to alleviate distressing symptoms, reduce anxiety and improve the quality of life, Suhr says. (Sb)

Image: Dieter Schütz