Geographical disparities in treatment and health care costs for end-of-life cancer patients in China: a retrospective study

Table 5 Generalized linear model for total EOL health care costs by types of cancer care and geographical location (N = 792)

Characteristics	Adjusted cost Ratio (95% CI)^ab	P - value
Urban-rural location
Rural	1
Urban	1.58 (1.32–1.91)	0.000
Types of cancer treatment
Conservative treatment	1
Life-extending treatment	1.46 (1.28–1.69)	0.000
Utilization of medical care
Hospitalization (no vs. yes)	2.70 (2.28–3.19)	0.000
Hospice care (no/not sure vs. yes)	1.01 (0.80–1.27)	0.943
Regions
Western	1
Central	0.86 (0.68–1.07)	0.171
Eastern	0.85 (0.69–1.05)	0.129

^aAdjusted for age, gender, nation, personal income, marital status, occupation, cancer types, days from being diagnosed to dying from cancer, the type of nearest medical facility and the distance to the nearest medical facility
^bCost ratio is calculated as exp. (estimate), which represents the cost ratio in RMB value between the specified group and the reference group

ISSN: 1471-2407