ABSTRACT
Palliative care is an approach that improves quality of life of patients and their families facing the problems associated with incurable life-threatening illness. The aim was to assess the needs for palliative care in Split-Dalmatia County. Assessment of the needs was conducted using mortality data on the Split-Dalmatia County population by selected diagnoses defined according to the criteria as necessitating palliative care. Almost half of the deceased in 2012 in Split-Dalmatia County needed palliative care. Among them there were significantly more males (χ(2)=134.5, p<0.001). The majority of patients requiring palliative care were in the 65-79 (40.2%) and ≥80 (36%) age groups. Most of them died from neoplasms (69%). The most common places of death of persons that died from neoplasms were at home (46.8%) and in the hospital (46%). In cases where patient residence was more than 60 min from the hospital, significantly more patients died at home than in the hospital (χ(2)=15.5; p<0.001). The mean duration of hospitalization of persons that required palliative care at Split University Hospital Center in 2012 was 13.9 days. The minimum number of beds needed for those patients was 35 per day. In conclusion, study results pointed to the needs of palliative care for both men and women of all age groups and in all parts of the Split-Dalmatia County, including urban and rural communities.
