MEDICAL INSURANCE CANNOT GUARANTEE THE QUALITY OF DEATH IN END-STAGE INTENSIVE CARE UNIT PATIENTS

Abstract

Purpose: This study investigated the quality of death in an end-stage intensive care unit (ICU). Methods: We surveyed 99 end-stage ICU patients at a tertiary hospital in Suzhou using the Chinese nurse version of the ICU Quality of Death Questionnaire and a self-developed family version of the Patient Quality of Death Questionnaire. Results: The mean total score of quality of dying and death among patients was 44.72 ± 8.20. Moreover, 43.8% of the surveyed family members believed that the patient was peaceful at the end of their life, while 34.4% did not, and 21.9% were unsure. Conclusion: Having medical insurance had a significant negative correlation with the quality of death (r = -0.205) and hospice evaluation scores (r = -0.352), suggesting that medical insurance does not guarantee a higher quality of death for these patients.