Improving hospital environments for the end of life care of older people

Whilst issues around preferences for place of care at the end of life are complex, the proportion of older people dying in hospital indicates an increasing need to improve the hospital environments in which these patients die. Indeed, whilst efforts are being made to increase home deaths, significant barriers exist to dying at home (including nursing and residential care) for many older people who would often prefer to die in a hospice or hospital.
The aim of this study is to explore how hospital environments experienced by older people dying of malignant disease could be optimised.