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Project

Treatment trajectory, costs and quality of care in last months of life of cancer patients in Flanders, 1996-2009

A. There are four main research questions:
1. Which treatments, including pharmacotherapy, do cancer patients receive during their last three months
of life (Study part 1)?
2. What are the characteristics of the care trajectory of cancer patients during their last three months of life
(where did they stay, transfers, length of stay in each setting, place of death) (Study part 1)?
3. Which are the direct and indirect costs (on patient level and on aggregated level) related to the
treatments and care trajectories during the last three months of life. (Study part 1 + 2)?
4. How did patients and their relatives (via answers of the relatives) experience care and treatment given
during the last two months of life on cancer patients (Study part 2)?
B. There are three sub-questions concerning main question 1, 2 and 3:
a. Are these related to the care setting (home, nursing home, hospital unit, ...)?
b. Are these related to patient characteristics, region, place of residence, care supply, ...?
c. What is the evolution over the years included in the study?
C. There are three sub-questions concerning main question 4:
a. What was the role of patients, relatives, and care providers in the decision-making concerning chosen
treatments and care trajectory, and which circumstances were important for the choices made?
b. Which were the desires and preferences of patients and relatives concerning care and treatments at the
end of life and to what extent were they met?
c. How did the patient and relatives assess the quality of the provided end-of-life care, and what is the
relationship between experienced quality and provided treatments, followed care trajectories and their

Date:1 Jan 2009 →  31 Dec 2014
Keywords:Euthanasia
Disciplines:Other biological sciences, Other natural sciences