Nelson Adekoya, Man‐Huei Chang
Objective: Because people with diagnosed HIV infection have access to improved treatment regimens leading to extended survival, understanding the place of death is relevant for end-of-life planning. We examined changes in the identified place of death among US residents who died from any cause and HIV-related deaths. Methods: We used data from the National Vital Statistics System mortality files in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Wide-ranging Online Data for Epidemiologic Research to describe the place of death (medical facility, patient’s home, long-term care) among US populations from 2018 through 2022, by selected characteristics. We determined the significance of temporal trends at P < .05. We determined the significance of differences in percentages of listed place of death by demographic characteristics. Results: Overall, we identified 15 821 860 deaths, of which 5 810 612 (37%) occurred at medical facilities and 5 212 129 (33%) occurred at home. Nationally, medical facilities were the primary listed place of death for non-Hispanic Black and Hispanic people, whereas medical facilities and home were primarily listed for non-Hispanic White people. We found a significant increase in deaths at home from 2018 to 2022. Of 38 881 HIV-related deaths, 21 005 (54%) occurred at medical facilities and 9276 (24%) occurred at home. For HIV-related deaths, medical facilities were listed as the primary place of death for all racial and ethnic groups, especially among Hispanic people. We found no significant temporal trend by place of death for HIV-related deaths. Conclusion: Because medical facilities were the primary place of death both overall and among HIV-related deaths, understanding the underlying reason why medical facilities remain the most identified place of death among patients with HIV might assist in end-of-life planning.