Family Perspectives on End-of-Life Care at the Last Place of Care

Abstract

Over the past century, dying has become increasingly institutionalized. In the early 1900s most people died at home, but by the middle of the 20th century the majority of deaths in industrialized nations occurred in health care institutions. With recent changes in health care, society is struggling with the role that governmental and nongovernmental regulatory structures should play in assuring that the health care system provides competent, coordinated, and compassionate care at life's end.¹