Let us talk about death: gender effects in cancer patients’ preferences for end-of-life discussions

Purpose Patients with advanced cancer often receive suboptimal end-of-life (EOL) care. Particularly males with advanced cancer are more likely to receive EOL care that is more aggressive, even if death is imminent. Critical factors determining EOL care are EOL conversations or advance care planning....

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Supportive care in cancer 2020-10, Vol.28 (10), p.4667-4675
Main Authors: Seifart, C., Riera Knorrenschild, J., Hofmann, M., Nestoriuc, Y., Rief, W., von Blanckenburg, P.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Advance Care Planning - standards
Advance directives
Cancer
Cancer patients
Cross-Sectional Studies
Death & dying
Female
Gender differences
Gender Identity
Humans
Male
Medicine
Medicine & Public Health
Mens health
Neoplasms - psychology
Nursing
Nursing Research
Oncology
Oncology, Experimental
Original
Original Article
Pain Medicine
Palliative care
Preferences
Rehabilitation Medicine
Terminal Care - psychology
Womens health
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Summary:Purpose Patients with advanced cancer often receive suboptimal end-of-life (EOL) care. Particularly males with advanced cancer are more likely to receive EOL care that is more aggressive, even if death is imminent. Critical factors determining EOL care are EOL conversations or advance care planning. However, information about gender-related factors influencing EOL conversations is lacking. Therefore, the current study investigates gender differences concerning the content, the desired time point, and the mode of initiation of EOL conversations in cancer patients. Methods In a cross-sectional study, 186 female and male cancer patients were asked about their preferences for EOL discussions using a semi-structured interview, focusing on (a) the importance of six different topics (medical and nursing care, organizational, emotional, social, and spiritual/religious aspects), (b) the desired time point, and (c) the mode of discussion initiation. Results The importance of EOL topics differs significantly regarding issue ( p  = 0.002, η 2  = 0.02) and gender ( p  
ISSN:0941-4355
1433-7339
DOI:10.1007/s00520-019-05275-1