SINGAPORE — A survey on the attitudes of Singaporeans towards death found that a majority of them want to die at home, a contrast to the present situation where less than a third of the deaths here take place at home.

In particular, the survey results revealed that respondents living in 1-2 room flats had a higher desire to die at home compared to those living in private property.

Commissioned by Lien Foundation, the survey interviewed over 1,000 respondents between October and December last year.

Home emerged as the preferred place of death for 77 per cent of the respondents. Among which, 76 per cent of them would still choose to die at home even without sufficient support from family, friends or medical professionals — especially so for those above 60 years old.

Speaking at the release of the survey results today, Lien Foundation’s Chief Executive Officer Lee Poh Wah said the people will have a greater chance of dying at home if the healthcare system is strongly geared towards hospice palliative care and provides more professional and social support to meet patients’ preferences.

He added: “Our health policy needs to contain the institutionalisation of death, and increase the proportion of home deaths.” Currently, 27 per cent of deaths here take place at home while 61 per cent of deaths occur in hospitals.

Three quarters of the respondents were also found to be open to receiving palliative care. But their perception that palliative care is expensive was also evident in more than half of all those surveyed.

Among those who would not consider such care, 43 per cent also cited high costs as a factor.

Similarly, medical costs emerged as the top concern and fear when nearing the end-of-life. Other top fears respondents listed include their concerns about being a burden to family and friends and the well-being of their family after death.

Addressing the fear of costs, Dr Jeremy Lim, a Partner and Head of Asia Pacific Life Sciences from Oliver Wyman, suggests providing hospice palliative care services for free.

“There is a strong case to provide free hospice palliative care in the community”, said Dr Lim, adding that this would discourage patients from seeking help in acute hospitals where costs are higher.

Currently, all home hospice services are free, while day hospice care cost between S$10-S$15 a day and inpatient hospice care costs between S$250-S$350 a day.