Presence at the time of death and factors associated with dying alone: A nationwide registry study

This study used data from the Swedish Register of Palliative Care, supplemented with questions, to investigate presence at the time of death and explore factors associated with dying alone. The sample consisted of 10,574 patients who had died an expected death, of whom 77% had someone present at the time of death. Only 19% had expressed a wish regarding the presence of others; among those who had not, the odds of dying alone were higher. In 93%, family members had been informed that death was imminent; when they had not been informed, the odds of the patient dying alone was higher. When patients died alone, the time since someone was last present ranged from between one minute to more than 60 minutes. Furthermore, the absence of a documented medical decision regarding transition to end-of-life palliative care and higher age were associated with higher odds of dying alone.

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Publication Details

Journal
Death Studies
Published
2026-10-13
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1080/07481187.2026.2747269
Primary Topic
Palliative Care and End-of-Life Issues
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
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article

Presence at the time of death and factors associated with dying alone: A nationwide registry study

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Death Studies
Palliative Care and End-of-Life Issues
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Presence at the time of death and factors associated with dying alone: A nationwide registry study

Maria E. C. Schelin, Anette Duarte, Jane Österlind, Linda Björkhem‐Bergman, Carina Lundh Hagelin, Christel Hedman, Maria Norinder, Anette Alvariza, Kristofer Årestedt, Sofia Andersson
article en

Abstract

This study used data from the Swedish Register of Palliative Care, supplemented with questions, to investigate presence at the time of death and explore factors associated with dying alone. The sample consisted of 10,574 patients who had died an expected death, of whom 77% had someone present at the time of death. Only 19% had expressed a wish regarding the presence of others; among those who had not, the odds of dying alone were higher. In 93%, family members had been informed that death was imminent; when they had not been informed, the odds of the patient dying alone was higher. When patients died alone, the time since someone was last present ranged from between one minute to more than 60 minutes. Furthermore, the absence of a documented medical decision regarding transition to end-of-life palliative care and higher age were associated with higher odds of dying alone.

Death Studies
Sophiahemmet University College (SE), Lund University (SE), Linnaeus University (SE), Swedish Foundation for Strategic Research (SE), Karolinska Institutet (SE), National Cancer Centre Japan (JP), Regional Cancer Center (US), Landstinget i Kalmar län (SE), Marie Cederschiöld University (SE), Umeå University (SE)
Openalex Percentile: Top 10%
Palliative Care and End-of-Life Issues
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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