Quality of final care for terminal cancer patients in a comprehensive cancer centre from the point of view of patients' families.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the quality of care for terminal cancer patients at our institution, as assessed by families in a questionnaire sent 6 months after the death of the patient. We evaluated the quality of information given to the patients and to their families, the patients' "comfort" at the end of their lives (nursing, pain, psychological support) and the families' opinions about the practical conditions at the time of death (in our institution or at home). A total of 105 consecutive patients who died in our institution between January and June 1989 were included in the study; the vast majority had breast or head and neck cancers. We obtained a total of 48 answers from the 105 families that received the questionnaire. Of these, 87.5% were satisfied with the terminal nursing care, 77% were satisfied with the information given to patients and 60% with the information given to families. The treatment for pain was considered to be inefficient or incomplete by 21% of the families; 32 families (67%) considered that the death of terminal cancer patients should occur in the hospital where the patient had been treated and 12% felt that it should occur at home. This study led us to examine various means for improving the quality of care for our terminal cancer patients.