Evaluation of End-of-Life Cancer Care in the ICU: Perceptions of the Bereaved Family in Japan

The purpose of this study was to investigate the evaluation of end-of-life care from bereaved family of cancer patients who had died in intensive care units in Japan. Cross-sectional anonymous questionnaire surveys were conducted on community dwelling individuals aged 40-79 who were randomly sampled from census tracts. End-of-life care was assessed using the Good Death Inventory and Care Evaluation Scale. The respondents were 4011 bereaved family and response rate was 40%. Of 390 respondents had experienced bereavement in intensive care unit. Of 152 respondents had lost a loved one due to cancer. The result showed that bereaved family of cancer patients evaluated lower than the non-cancer patients for "The doctors dealt promptly with discomforting symptoms of the patients' (p=0.009), 'The nurses had adequate knowledge and skills' (p=0.016), 'Admission (use) was possible when necessary without waiting' (p=0.008) , Consideration was given to the health of the family (P=0.039) and Physical and psychological comfort (p=0.03). Overall, it can be presumed that the cancer patients' bereaved family evaluated about symptoms management and doctors and nurses skills was low. There is a need to improve for end-of-life care of cancer patients and to conduct further research to explore quality-improvement interventions to bereaved family of cancer in intensive care unit.