Background
Methods
Data sources and record linkage
Characteristics of decedents
Measures of hospital-based service utilisation
Data analysis
Results
No. of deaths | % of deaths | |
---|---|---|
Age at death | ||
18–59 | 5722 | 13 |
60–79 | 15,723 | 34 |
80–89 | 16,354 | 36 |
90+ | 7950 | 17 |
Sex | ||
Female | 22,422 | 49 |
Male | 23,117 | 51 |
Unknown | 210 | 0.5 |
Country of birth | ||
Australia | 33,862 | 74 |
Other | 11,536 | 25 |
Unknown | 351 | 1 |
Marital status | ||
Never married | 4120 | 9 |
Married (including de facto) | 18,262 | 40 |
Widowed | 14,281 | 31 |
Separated/Divorced | 2949 | 6 |
Unknown | 6137 | 13 |
Interpreter required | ||
No | 36,522 | 80 |
Yes | 1651 | 4 |
Unknown | 7576 | 17 |
Place of residencea | ||
Major cities | 30,901 | 68 |
Inner regional | 10,990 | 24 |
Outer regional | 3175 | 7 |
Remote / Very remote | 221 | 0.5 |
Unknown | 462 | 1 |
Socioeconomic statusb | ||
Most disadvantaged quintile | 9045 | 20 |
Quintile 2 | 10,207 | 22 |
Quintile 3 | 10,169 | 22 |
Quintile 4 | 7878 | 17 |
Least disadvantaged quintile | 7943 | 17 |
Unknown | 507 | 1 |
Cause of death | ||
Diseases of the circulatory system | 15,500 | 34 |
Cancer | 13,441 | 29 |
Other causes | 15,226 | 33 |
Cause of death not available | 1582 | 3 |
Hospital episodes of care
>3 hospital episodes (24 %) | >42 days in hospital (25 %) | Spent time in ICU (12 %) | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
No. of deaths | n (% within category) | Adjusted OR (95 % CI) | n (% within category) | Adjusted OR (95 % CI) | n (% within category) | Adjusted OR (95 % CI) | |
Age at death | p < 0.0001 | p < 0.0001 | p < 0.0001 | ||||
18–59 | 5722 | 1660 (29) | 0.92 (0.86–0.99) | 1344 (23) | 0.76 (0.71–0.82) | 1018 (18) | 1.06 (0.97–1.15) |
60–79 | 15,723 | 4979 (32) | 1.00 (reference) | 4580 (29) | 1.00 (reference) | 2608 (17) | 1.00 (reference) |
80–89 | 16,354 | 3350 (20) | 0.69 (0.65–0.72) | 4051 (25) | 0.92 (0.88–0.97) | 1413 (9) | 0.46 (0.42–0.49) |
90+ | 7950 | 878 (11) | 0.39 (0.36–0.42) | 1389 (17) | 0.65 (0.61–0.70) | 235 (3) | 0.14 (0.12–0.17) |
Sex | p < 0.0001 | p = 0.02 | p < 0.0001 | ||||
Female | 22,422 | 4645 (21) | 1.00 (reference) | 5313 (24) | 1.00 (reference) | 2189 (10) | 1.00 (reference) |
Male | 23,117 | 6222 (27) | 1.19 (1.14–1.25) | 6051 (26) | 1.05 (1.01–1.10) | 3085 (13) | 1.14 (1.07–1.21) |
Unknown | 210 | 0 (0) | Not included | 0 (0) | Not included | 0 (0) | Not included |
Country of birth | p = 0.01 | p < 0.0001 | p = 0.58 | ||||
Australia | 33,862 | 8084 (24) | 1.00 (reference) | 8566 (25) | 1.00 (reference) | 3840 (11) | 1.00 (reference) |
Other | 11,536 | 2783 (24) | 0.93 (0.89–0.99) | 2798 (24) | 0.89 (0.85–0.94) | 1432 (12) | 0.98 (0.91–1.05) |
Unknown | 351 | 0 (0) | Not included | 0 (0) | Not included | 2 (1) | Not included |
Place of residenceb | p = 0.04 | p < 0.0001 | p < 0.0001 | ||||
Major cities | 30,907 | 7527 (24) | 1.00 (reference) | 7843 (25) | 1.00 (reference) | 3797 (12) | 1.00 (reference) |
Inner regional | 10,990 | 2492 (23) | 0.92 (0.87–0.98) | 2571 (23) | 0.89 (0.84–0.94) | 1090 (10) | 0.75 (0.69–0.82) |
Outer regional/Remote/Very remote | 3396 | 830 (24) | 0.97 (0.89–1.07) | 921 (27) | 1.06 (0.97–1.16) | 373 (11) | 0.69 (0.61–0.79) |
Unknown | 462 | 18 (4) | Not included | 29 (6) | Not included | 14 (3) | Not included |
Socioeconomic statusc | p < 0.0001 | p = 0.01 | p < 0.0001 | ||||
Most disadvantaged quintile | 9045 | 2234 (25) | 0.90 (0.83–0.97) | 2309 (26) | 0.97 (0.89–1.04) | 1338 (15) | 1.23 (1.11–1.36) |
Quintile 2 | 10,207 | 2439 (24) | 0.83 (0.77–0.89) | 2485 (24) | 0.89 (0.83–0.96) | 1091 (11) | 0.86 (0.78–0.95) |
Quintile 3 | 10,169 | 2251 (22) | 0.78 (0.72–0.84) | 2503 (25) | 0.92 (0.86–0.99) | 1065 (10) | 0.82 (0.74–0.90) |
Quintile 4 | 7878 | 1874 (24) | 0.85 (0.79–0.92) | 1938 (25) | 0.91 (0.85–0.98) | 802 (10) | 0.75 (0.68–0.83) |
Least disadvantaged quintile | 7943 | 2043 (26) | 1.00 (reference) | 2088 (26) | 1.00 (reference) | 958 (12) | 1.00 (reference) |
Unknown | 507 | 26 (5) | Not included | 41 (8) | Not included | 20 (4) | Not included |
Cause of death | p < 0.0001 | p < 0.0001 | p < 0.0001 | ||||
Circulatory system | 15,500 | 2341 (15) | 1.00 (reference) | 2922 (19) | 1.00 (reference) | 1540 (10) | 1.00 (reference) |
Cancer | 13,441 | 5465 (41) | 3.18 (3.00–3.37) | 4685 (35) | 2.17 (2.06–2.30) | 1514 (11) | 0.79 (0.73–0.85) |
Other known cause | 15,226 | 2797 (18) | 1.19 (1.12–1.26) | 3447 (23) | 1.26 (1.19–1.33) | 2032 (13) | 1.21 (1.12–1.30) |
Cause not known | 1582 | 264 (17) | Not included | 310 (20) | Not included | 188 (12) | Not included |
Presentations to Emergency Departments
>3 ED presentations (18 %) | |||
---|---|---|---|
No. of deaths | n (% within category) | Adjusted OR (95 % CI) | |
Age at death | p < 0.0001 | ||
18–59 | 3624 | 775 (21) | 1.04 (0.94–1.14) |
60–79 | 9607 | 1968 (20) | 1.00 (reference) |
80–89 | 10,269 | 1751 (17) | 0.87 (0.81–0.94) |
90+ | 4984 | 586 (12) | 0.61 (0.55–0.68) |
Sex | p < 0.0001 | ||
Female | 14,208 | 2263 (16) | 1.00 (reference) |
Male | 14,276 | 2817 (20) | 1.18 (1.11–1.26) |
Country of birth | p < 0.0001 | ||
Australia | 18,924 | 3191 (17) | 1.00 (reference) |
Other | 9473 | 1889 (20) | 1.14 (1.07–1.22) |
Unknown | 87 | 0 (0) | Not included |
Place of residenceb | p = 0.01 | ||
Major cities | 26,830 | 4725 (18) | 1.00 (reference) |
Inner regional | 1651 | 355 (22) | 1.18 (1.04–1.34) |
Unknown | 3 | 0 (0) | Not included |
Socioeconomic statusc | p < 0.0001 | ||
Most disadvantaged quintile | 4394 | 1002 (23) | 1.80 (1.63–1.99) |
Quintile 2 | 4808 | 1044 (22) | 1.69 (1.53–1.87) |
Quintile 3 | 4392 | 767 (17) | 1.35 (1.22–1.50) |
Quintile 4 | 6958 | 1251 (18) | 1.40 (1.27–1.53) |
Least disadvantaged quintile | 7884 | 1016 (13) | 1.00 (reference) |
Unknown | 48 | 0 (0) | Not included |
Cause of death | p < 0.0001 | ||
Circulatory system | 9462 | 1378 (15) | 1.00 (reference) |
Cancer | 8547 | 1743 (20) | 1.33 (1.23–1.45) |
Other known cause | 9626 | 1805 (19) | 1.30 (1.20–1.40) |
Cause not known | 849 | 154 (18) | Not included |
Admissions to intensive care units
Palliative care
Number of deaths (%) | Cumulative deaths (%)a | |
---|---|---|
Palliative care indicator 1 | ||
Admitted to an inpatient hospice | 2170 (5) | 2170 (5) |
“Saw palliative team” | 6609 (14) | 6909 (15) |
Palliative care indicator 2 | ||
Admitted to an inpatient hospice | 2170 (5) | 2170 (5) |
“Saw palliative team” | 6609 (14) | 6909 (15) |
Palliative care bed (unit type) | 353 (1) | 6954 (15) |
Service category “Palliative” | 5995 (13) | 8228 (18) |
Diagnosis “Palliative care” | 9842 (22) | 10,652 (23) |
Referred to palliative team/palliative unit/hospice | 1938 (4) | 10,777 (24) |
Palliative care indicator 1 (15 %) | Palliative care indicator 2 (24 %) | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
No. of deaths | n (% within category) | Adjusted OR (95 % CI) | n (% within category) | Adjusted OR (95 % CI) | |
Age at death | p < 0.0001 | p < 0.0001 | |||
18–59 | 5722 | 1068 (19) | 0.89 (0.82–0.97) | 1601 (28) | 0.86 (0.80–0.93) |
60–79 | 15,723 | 3384 (22) | 1.00 (reference) | 5109 (32) | 1.00 (reference) |
80–89 | 16,354 | 1936 (12) | 0.73 (0.68–0.78) | 3160 (19) | 0.74 (0.70–0.79) |
90+ | 7950 | 521 (7) | 0.54 (0.49–0.61) | 907 (11) | 0.56 (0.51–0.61) |
Sex | p = 0.45 | p = 0.53 | |||
Female | 22,422 | 3121 (14) | 1.00 (reference) | 4877 (22) | 1.00 (reference) |
Male | 23,117 | 3788 (16) | 0.98 (0.92–1.04) | 5900 (26) | 0.98 (0.93–1.04) |
Unknown | 210 | 0 (0) | Not included | 0 (0) | Not included |
Country of birth | p < 0.0001 | p < 0.0001 | |||
Australia | 33,862 | 4649 (14) | 1.00 (reference) | 7650 (23) | 1.00 (reference) |
Other | 11,536 | 2258 (20) | 1.28 (1.20–1.37) | 3125 (27) | 1.17 (1.10–1.24) |
Unknown | 351 | 2 (1) | Not included | 2 (1) | Not included |
Place of residencea | p < 0.0001 | p < 0.0001 | |||
Major cities | 30,907 | 5538 (18) | 1.00 (reference) | 7809 (25) | 1.00 (reference) |
Inner regional | 10,990 | 1060 (10) | 0.46 (0.42–0.50) | 2201 (20) | 0.75 (0.70–0.81) |
Outer regional/Remote/Very remote | 3396 | 297 (9) | 0.36 (0.31–0.42) | 746 (22) | 0.81 (0.72–0.90) |
Unknown | 462 | 14 (3) | Not included | 21 (5) | Not included |
Socioeconomic statusb | p < 0.0001 | p = 0.01 | |||
Most disadvantaged quintile | 9045 | 1409 (16) | 1.27 (1.15–1.40) | 2231 (25) | 1.02 (0.93–1.12) |
Quintile 2 | 10,207 | 1317 (13) | 0.86 (0.78–0.95) | 2238 (22) | 0.76 (0.69–0.82) |
Quintile 3 | 10,169 | 1405 (14) | 0.88 (0.80–0.97) | 2133 (21) | 0.72 (0.66–0.79) |
Quintile 4 | 7878 | 1358 (17) | 1.02 (0.93–1.12) | 2039 (26) | 0.99 (0.90–1.07) |
Least disadvantaged quintile | 7943 | 1403 (18) | 1.00 (reference) | 2109 (27) | 1.00 (reference) |
Unknown | 507 | 17 (3) | Not included | 27 (5) | Not included |
Cause of death | p < 0.0001 | p < 0.0001 | |||
Circulatory system | 15,500 | 679 (4) | 1.00 (reference) | 1227 (8) | 1.00 (reference) |
Cancer | 13,441 | 5253 (39) | 12.88 (11.81–14.05) | 7841 (58) | 14.89 (13.88–15.96) |
Other known cause | 15,226 | 896 (6) | 1.30 (1.17–1.44) | 1564 (10) | 1.29 (1.19–1.39) |
Cause not known | 1582 | 81 (5) | Not included | 145 (9) | Not included |