[The role of social factors in the place of death of cancer patients in the county of Nordjylland].

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the importance of social factors on whether cancer deaths occurred at home or in hospitals. The study was based on questionnaires to the patient's general practitioner and to the home nursing service. The study included 241 patients with terminal cancer who were all identified by death certificates via the Department of Public Health in the period of the 1st February, 1992 to the 31st April, 1992. The study demonstrated that significantly more patients died in their own homes when a contact to the home nursing service had been established. The same tendency could be observed for patients with relatives being reimbursed for loss of income while providing care in the home. Significantly more patients died at home in municipalities where 24-hour nursing facilities could be offered. No association between age, sex, or whether the patient lived alone or lived cohabitantly were observed. The study suggest that an intensification of the home nursing facilities would give a greater number of terminal cancer patients the option of dying in their own homes. The possibility of relatives being reimbursed for loss of income while providing care in the home has a positive influence on the development of the number of cases home nursing.