Overview

• Patients were 2.7 times more likely to die at home when professional respite for family caregivers was available.
• Timely nursing visits, assistance with bathing and hygiene, and effective pain control were also linked to home deaths.
• Researchers examined nearly 6,000 Montreal at-home palliative care records from 2015–2024 and conducted 73 stakeholder interviews.
• Quebec’s home-death rate remains under 10%, trailing the Canadian average of about 15%, despite stated preferences to die at home.
• The authors recommend investing in respite, reducing home-care staff turnover, standardizing services across regions, and mobilizing specialized nurse practitioners.