10.3: Where Do People Die?

Gathering statistics on the location of death is not a simple matter. Those with terminal illnesses may be going through the process of dying at home or in a nursing home, only to be transported to a hospital in the final hours of their life. According to the Stanford Medical School (2019), most Americans (80%) would prefer to die at home, however:

• 60% of Americans die in acute care hospitals
• 20% in nursing homes
• 20% at home.

While dying at home is not favored in certain cultures, and some patients may prefer to die in a hospital, the results indicate that less people are dying at home than want to.

Internationally, 54% of deaths in over 45 nations occurred in hospitals, with the most frequent occurring in Japan (78%) and the least frequent occurring in China (20%), according to a study by Broad et al. (2013). They also found that for older adults, 18% of deaths occurred in some form of residential care, such as nursing homes, and that for each decade after age 65, the rate of dying in a such settings increased 10%. In addition, the number of women dying in residential care was considerably higher than for males.