Comparison of patient characteristics before and after propensity score matching
| Characteristic | Before propensity score matching | After propensity score matching | p value* | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unexposed | Exposed | Unexposed | Exposed | ||
| No. of patients (pooled across the teams) | 41 133 | 3912 | 3109 | 3109 | |
| Age at death, yr, median (IQR) | 80 (69–87) | 75 (64–84) | 74 (63–83) | 75 (64–84) | NS |
| Cancer diagnosis, no. (%) | 14 443 (35.1) | 3073 (78.6) | 2481 (79.8) | 2469 (79.4) | 0.7 |
| Female, no. (%) | 20 895 (50.8) | 2032 (51.9) | 1609 (51.8) | 1600 (51.5) | 0.8 |
| Adjusted Clinical Group comorbidity weighting, mean ± SD | 5.12 ± 4.09 | 6.30 ± 4.04 | 6.21 ± 3.93 | 6.20 ± 3.98 | NS |
| Home care service type, no. (%) | |||||
| End of life | 6208 (15.1) | 3041 (77.7) | 2409 (77.5) | 2409 (77.5) | 1.0 |
| Long-term supportive | 3408 (8.3) | 210 (5.4) | 145 (4.7) | 145 (4.7) | 1.0 |
| Maintenance | 7692 (18.7) | 328 (8.4) | 278 (8.9) | 278 (8.9) | 1.0 |
| Rehab/acute care | 6478 (15.7) | 157 (4.0) | 106 (3.4) | 106 (3.4) | 1.0 |
| None | 17 347 (42.2) | 176 (4.5) | 171 (5.5) | 171 (5.5) | 1.0 |
| Time from first receipt of most severe home care service type to death, d, mean ± SD | |||||
| End of life | 15.47 ± 56.48 | 86.18 ± 107.29 | 79.23 ± 102.02 | 79.32 ± 102.05 | NS |
| Long-term supportive | 23.92 ± 81.17 | 31.00 ± 87.25 | 37.96 ± 95.92 | 27.84 ± 83.51 | NS |
| Maintenance | 63.68 ± 124.80 | 82.02 ± 131.69 | 81.64 ± 131.06 | 83.55 ± 132.16 | NS |
| Rehab/acute care | 69.70 ± 113.27 | 76.05 ± 113.98 | 79.29 ± 112.60 | 80.12 ± 114.96 | NS |
| No. of prior emergency department visits, mean ± SD | 1.16 ± 2.10 | 1.43 ± 2.11 | 1.40 ± 1.95 | 1.36 ± 1.96 | NS |
| Prior length of stay in hospital, d, mean ± SD | 7.18 ± 22.23 | 7.53 ± 17.09 | 6.84 ± 14.17 | 6.73 ± 14.85 | NS |
| No. of prior hospital visits, mean ± SD | 0.56 ± 1.04 | 0.75 ± 1.14 | 0.76 ± 1.15 | 0.70 ± 1.07 | NS |
| Income quintile, no. (%) | |||||
| 1 (lowest) | 10 288 (25.0) | 668 (17.1) | 772 (24.8) | 536 (17.2) | < 0.001 |
| 2 | 9053 (22.0) | 746 (19.1) | 703 (22.6) | 605 (19.5) | 0.003 |
| 3 | 7565 (18.4) | 720 (18.4) | 604 (19.4) | 550 (17.7) | 0.08 |
| 4 | 7460 (18.1) | 872 (22.3) | 585 (18.8) | 675 (21.7) | 0.005 |
| 5 (highest) | 6555 (15.9) | 906 (23.2) | 437 (14.1) | 743 (23.9) | < 0.001 |
Note: IQR = interquartile range, NS = not significant, SD = standard deviation.
↵* For characteristics reported as means and medians it was not possible to calculate actual p values at the time of publication because the individual data were no longer accessible, for privacy reasons.