The choice between hospital and home care for terminally ill children.

Abstract

This study explored the decision making process of physicians and parents in choosing between hospital and home care for children in the terminal phase of cancer. Data were gathered from hospital records of the children and from interviews with their parents. Discriminant function analysis of hospital record data suggested that the physician's influence over care and treatment choices remained the dominant influence into the terminal phase. Yet parents reported that they were most influenced by their child's and their own desires and beliefs about their ability to provide care. The possibility of a two-stage decision process is offered to explain this discrepancy.