Evaluating quality of care at the end of life and setting best practice performance standards: a population-based observational study using linked routinely collected administrative databases

Table 3 Characteristics of the population dying from diseases relevant for palliative care

Cause of death	N decedents (%)	% female	Age, mean (SD)	% with non-western cultural background^a
Cancer	44,908 (40.9)	45.3	73.0 (12.4)	3.3
Heart disease	25,840 (23.6)	51.2	81.5 (11.8)	3.2
Dementia	17,148 (15.6)	68.2	87.3 (7.2)	1.5
Stroke	9,199 (8.4)	59.0	81.9 (11.0)	3.2
Chronic respiratory disease	7,129 (6.5)	50.0	78.4 (10.4)	2.0
Neurodegenerative disease	2,776 (2.5)	44.5	77.5 (10.9)	2.5
Reno-vascular disease	1,578 (1.4)	54.1	83.3 (9.9)	5.0
Liver disease	1,104 (1.0)	36.8	67.1 (13.4)	7.0
HIV	25 (0.0)	-	-	-
Total	109,707 (100)	51.8^b	78.5 (12.5)^b	2.9^b

^a Persons with a Turkish, Moroccan, Surinam, Antillian or other non-western background
^b To guarantee anonimity, the characteristics of the persons within the small group of persons with HIV were not included in this table

ISSN: 1472-684X