Place of death

  • Charts and Tables

    Charts and Tables

    Figure 5.3

    Percentage of cancer patient deaths occurring in hospital, private home or other places, by jurisdiction — 2013 reporting year

    SK: Owing to small numbers, deaths in private homes were combined with Other.

    TR: Territories combined.

    Provinces and territories vary in how location of death is categorized and the classification of different settings. In Manitoba, for example, many deaths categorized as in-hospital occur in palliative care units or hospital-based hospices.

    The percentage might not sum up to 100% due to rounding.

    Data source: Statistics Canada: Vital Statistics Death Database.

    Data Table

    JurisdictionPlace of deathNumber of deaths due to cancerPercent (%)Lower bound of 95% confidence intervalUpper bound of 95% confidence interval
    BCHospital4,69048.647.649.6
    BCPrivate home1,54016.015.216.7
    BCOther3,42535.534.536.4
    ABHospital3,97564.363.165.5
    ABPrivate home72511.710.912.6
    ABOther1,48023.922.925.0
    SKHospital1,53065.863.867.7
    SKPrivate home****
    SKOther79534.232.336.2
    MBHospital2,36587.886.589.0
    MBPrivate home29010.89.612.0
    MBOther401.51.12.0
    ONHospital16,97061.560.962.1
    ONPrivate home5,86021.220.821.7
    ONOther4,77017.316.817.7
    QCHospital15,22075.574.976.1
    QCPrivate home1,6958.48.08.8
    QCOther3,24016.115.616.6
    NBHospital1,47077.275.279.0
    NBPrivate home24512.911.414.4
    NBOther19010.08.711.4
    NSHospital1,82570.168.371.8
    NSPrivate home58022.320.723.9
    NSOther2007.76.78.8
    PEHospital23062.257.067.1
    PEPrivate home4512.29.015.9
    PEOther9525.721.330.4
    NLHospital1,15579.176.981.2
    NLPrivate home16011.09.412.7
    NLOther1459.98.411.6
    TRHospital9054.546.662.3
    TRPrivate home4024.217.931.5
    TROther3521.215.228.2

    SK: Owing to small numbers, deaths in private homes were combined with Other.

    TR: Territories combined.

    Provinces and territories vary in how location of death is categorized and the classification of different settings. In Manitoba, for example, many deaths categorized as in-hospital occur in palliative care units or hospital-based hospices.

    The percentage might not sum up to 100% due to rounding.

    Data source: Statistics Canada: Vital Statistics Death Database.

  • Data specifications

    Data specifications

    Definition: The percentage of cancer patients who died in hospital, private home and other places

    Rationale for measurement: Measuring place of death, although a crude measure, addresses one important aspect of end-of-life care and may contribute to better planning and quality of end-of-life care for cancer patients.

    Measurement timeframe: Year 2013

    Denominator: Number of deaths due to any invasive cancers

    Numerator: Number of deaths due to any invasive cancers grouped into 3 locations:

    • hospital
    • private home
    • other places

    Exclusion criteria: Not applicable

    Data availability: All provinces and territories

    Stratification: By jurisdiction (territories were combined)

    Data source: Statistics Canada, Vital Statistics Death Database

    Data retrieval date: October 2017

    Variables details: Not applicable

    Notes from jurisdictions:

    • QC: “Hospital” includes residential and long-term care centres.
    • MB: Designated palliative care units were included in “Hospital.” In other provinces this type of bed may be considered part of long-term care (“Other”).
    • SK: A very small proportion of deaths were recorded as private home, so that private home and other were combined together.

    Methodology notes:

    1. Data were retrieved from Vital Statistics Death Databases.
    2. Data presented include ages 0+, provinces/territories combined
    3. The percentages of place of death were based on random rounded counts using Statistics Canada algorithm.
    4. The definition of hospital varied across provinces. Hospices can be classified as “Other” or “Hospital” depending on province.
    5. “Other” included other specified locality, other health care facility, private home and unknown localities.

    Changes to definition compared to previous years: Not applicable

  • Related indicators