Declining Trends in Hospital Deaths in Denmark from 1980 to 2014.

Karen Andersen-Ranberg, Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Biodemography, University of Southern Denmark, Odense C
Nuria Calduch Verdiell, Centre d'Estudis DemogrĂ fics (CED)
Angela Carollo, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research
Jo Mhairi Hale, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research
Rune Lindahl-Jacobsen, MaxO, University of Southern Denmark
Anna Oksuzyan, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research

Central to planning policies for end-of-life care, and also a key in accommodating individuals’ wishes, is knowing the share of the population dying in different contexts. Many high-income countries have worked toward shifting the place of death from hospital to home or long-term care institutions. However, long-term trends of place of death in Denmark remain unknown.

This study explores trends in hospital deaths at ages 50 and over and individual-level determinants of hospital deaths, using high-quality register data on the total Danish population from 1980 to 2014.

Results provide evidence that older Danes are increasingly dying outside the hospital context. Tendency toward increasing trends of hospital deaths were observed for oldest-old, dying from respiratory diseases, and with terminal hospitalizations lasting 1-3 days. Changes in healthcare and social systems implemented in Denmark during the observation period may underpin the broader reduction in hospital deaths in the country.

Presented in Poster Session 1