Hospice care in the Netherlands: who applies and who is admitted to inpatient care?

Background: Ten percent of non-sudden deaths in the Netherlands occur in inpatient hospice facilities. To investigate differences between patients who are admitted to inpatient hospice care or not following application, how diagnoses compare to the national population, characteristics of application, and associations with being admitted to inpatient hospice care or not.

Methods: Data from a database representing over 25% of inpatient hospice facilities in the Netherlands were analysed.