Summary of the dissertation
In the Netherlands, the general practitioner (GP) is the central professional in the management and coordination of the patient’s treatment. Almost 60% of the patients with non-acute illnesses die at home, and there is a general consensus that end-of-life care, if possible, preferably should be provided in the patient’s home. The actual and formal approach of the Dutch government is that end-of-life care should be provided as much as possible by generalists, and in this context initiatives to make possible the responsible, complex and demanding tasks of providing end-of-life care were stimulated. Because few studies have been performed in order to describe and understand the role of the GP, end-of-life care research activities concerning general practice were initiated. This thesis aims to investigate issues of current practice in end-of-life care in general practice in the Netherlands.
