Highlights

Terminal illness 

• Around a quarter of participants reported that  someone close to them had died as a result of a terminal illness in the last five years.  
• For both men and women, the likelihood of reporting anyone close to them having died in the last five years peaked between the ages of 45-64.  

Place of death

• The most common place of death was a hospital, home was the next most common place of death followed by a hospice.                 

Personal care 

• Overall 33% of men and 43% of women provided personal care and/or other care. Personal care is defined as things like help with washing, dressing, going to the toilet or eating. Other types of care include things like keeping the person company, doing errands and giving lifts.
• Higher proportions of older and middle age groups than younger age groups had provided care.
• Women were more likely than men to have provided care on a daily basis and more women than men had provided personal care for a number of months or more than a year.
• More than three quarters of men and women said that they would definitely take on the role of caring again in similar circumstances, 76% and 78% respectively.

Palliative care 

• Participants who reported the person close to them had died of cancer were twice as likely to mention use of palliative care compared with those reporting other illnesses.