Factors associated with emergency admission for people dying from cancer in Northern Ireland: an observational data linkage study

BACKGROUND: Many people living with cancer are admitted as an emergency, some just prior to diagnosis and others in their last year of life. Factors associated with accessing emergency care for people dying of cancer are complex and not well understood. This can make it difficult to have the resources and staffing in place to best care for individuals in their last year of life and their families. METHODS: This study uses routinely collected administrative data from people who died of cancer in N. Ireland (NI) during 2015 and explores how personal characteristics (e.g., gender, age) and disease related factors (e.g., tumour site, cancer stage at initial diagnosis) were associated with having an emergency admission to hospital in the last year and the last 28 days of their lives, using multivariate logistic regression. RESULTS: Almost three in four people had at least one emergency admission in the last year of life, and over one in three had an emergency admission the last 28 days of life. Patterns were similar for both time outcomes with males, people with haematological, lung or brain cancers, younger persons, those diagnosed with late-stage cancer, and people diagnosed close to time of death, being significantly more likely to have an emergency admission. While there was no significant association between deprivation and emergency admission rates, those living in urban areas were more likely to have an emergency admission in their last month of life compared to rural dwellers. Late diagnosis was evident with 538 people (12.8% of all deaths from cancer) being diagnosed within one month of death and 1242 (29%) within 3 months of death. CONCLUSION: The high level of emergency admissions points to gaps in routine end-of-life care, and the need for additional training for hospital staff including frontline emergency department (ED) staff who are often the ‘gatekeepers’ to emergency inpatient care for people living with cancer. The levels of late diagnosis indicate a need for increased population awareness of cancer symptoms and system change to promote earlier diagnosis. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12913-023-10228-w.