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Table 2 Characteristics of the deceased persons and their family members

From: Support received by family members before, at and after an ill person’s death

 

Deceased persons

Family members

%a

n

%a

n

Sex (missing = 0/0)b

 Male

50.3

(244)

29.3

(142)

 Female

49.7

(241)

70.7

(343)

Age (missing = 1/8)b

 18–39

  

2.4

(12)

 40–59

3.5

(17)

29.1

(141)

 60–69

8.9

(43)

31.3

(152)

 70–79

23.1

(112)

22.9

(111)

 80–89

36.7

(178)

11.3

(55)

 90 + 

27.6

(134)

1.2

(6)

Educational attainment (Missing = 5/3)b

 Lower secondary education

72.4

(351)

29.5

(143)

 Higher secondary education

11.1

(54)

30.5

(148)

 Higher education

15.5

(75)

39.4

(191)

Underlying cause of death 1c

 Cognitive diseases

1.0

(4)

  

 Neurodegenerative diseases

1.0

(4)

  

 Liver diseases

1.5

(6)

  

 Renal diseases

9.4

(38)

  

 Respiratory diseases

15.1

(61)

  

 Cancer

15.8

(64)

  

 Heart diseases (incl. cerebrovasular)

56.3

(228)

  

Underlying cause of death 2c

 HIV/Aids

0.3

(1)

  

 Liver diseases

0.9

(3)

  

 Neurodegenerative diseases

1.2

(4)

  

 Cognitive diseases

3.5

(12)

  

 Renal diseases

4.4

(15)

  

 Respiratory diseases

10.2

(35)

  

 Cancer

15.2

(52)

  

 Heart diseases (incl. cerebrovasular)

64.3

(220)

  

Length of illness before death (Missing = 6)b

 Sudden death

5.4

(26)

  

  < 24 h

2.1

(10)

  

 24 h – 1 week

10.7

(52)

  

 1 week – 1 month

13.0

(63)

  

 1 month – 6 months

14.8

(72)

  

 6 months – 1 year

10.3

(50)

  

 1 year or more

42.5

(206)

  

Relationship (missing = 4)b

 Spouse

  

34.5

(166)

 Child

  

51.8

(249)

 Otherd

  

13.7

(66)

  1. a Column percentage displayed
  2. b Missing = 0/0 shows the number of missing cases for deceased persons/bereaved family members
  3. c Underlying causes of death according to Murtagh’s (2014) model for potential palliative care needs
  4. d E.g., parent, sibling, friend