自上世纪00年代以来，美国在家离世的人数首次超过了在医院离世的人数。一份新的报告称，这表明越来越多的美国人开始接受大多数美国人声称想要的生命的终结。该报告指出，在疗养院离世的人数也有所减少。
The findings were published earlier this month in The New England Journal of Medicine.
该发现发表在本月初的《新英格兰医学杂志》上。
Haider Warraich is a doctor with the Veterans Affairs Boston Healthcare System. He was the lead writer of the report. Warraich said the fact that more Americans dying at home is "a good thing. Death has become overly medicalized over the last century" and this shows a turn away from that, he said.
海德·瓦莱奇是美国退伍军人事务部波士顿医疗系统的一名医生。他也是该报告的主要作者。瓦莱奇表示，更多美国人在家里离世这样一个事实“是一件好事。”他说，上个世纪的死亡被过度医疗化了，而这表明情况已经发生了改变。
Betsy McNair is a tour guide who now lives in Mexico. She told The Associated Press she is pleased with the ending she helped give her father, Robert McNair. He died at home in Belle Haven, Virginia in 2009, just six weeks after learning he had lung cancer. He was 83 years old.
贝茜·麦克奈尔是一名现居墨西哥的导游。她对美联社表示，她对自己给予父亲罗伯特·麦克奈尔的临终安排感到满意。罗伯特在得知自己患上肺癌的6周之后，于2009年在弗吉尼亚州百利避风港的家中离世。享年83岁。
Betsy McNair remembers, "I made him exactly what he wanted to eat, whenever he wanted it. He had a scotch every night, he had a very high quality of life. If he woke up at 2 o'clock in the morning and wanted to have coffee and pie, that's what we did."
贝茜回忆道：“他什么时候想吃什么，我就给他做什么。他每晚都喝一杯苏格兰威士忌，他的生活质量很高。如果他在凌晨2点醒来想要喝咖啡、吃馅饼，我们就给他做。”
Warraich and Duke University graduate student Sarah Cross used U.S. government health information on deaths from natural causes. They studied records for the period from 2003 through 2017. They found that deaths in hospitals fell from 40% to 30% over that period and in nursing homes from 24% to 21%.
瓦莱奇和杜克大学的研究生萨拉·克罗斯使用了美国政府关于自然原因死亡的卫生信息。他们研究了2003年到2017年期间的记录。他们发现，在此期间，在医院离世的人数已经从40%下降到30%，而在疗养院中离世的人数已经从24%下降到21%。
Deaths in homes rose from 24% to 31%. Researchers said they had no way to tell if some assisted living centers may have been counted as homes.
在家中离世的人数从24%上升到31%。研究人员表示，他们无法确定在某些辅助生活中心离世是否也算作在家里离世。
Cancer patients were more likely to die at home than in a hospital. People suffering from memory loss, lung diseases or who lived in a nursing home were more likely to die in a hospital.
癌症病人更可能在家里离世，而不是医院。患有记忆力衰退、肺部疾病或住在疗养院中的人士更可能在医院离世。
Betsy McNair noted that the kind of disease matters. She helped care for a brother who had amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) in his 50s. ALS causes the death of neurons controlling voluntary muscles in the body. She also helped care for her mother, who died at age 92 in a nursing home after her health worsened.
贝茜指出，疾病的类型至关紧要。她帮助照顾了一位在50多岁患上肌萎缩性侧索硬化症的兄弟。侧索硬化症会导致控制身体随意肌的神经元死亡。她还帮助照顾了她的母亲，她的母亲在健康情况恶化后在疗养院中去世，享年92岁。
McNair said "they were all completely different experiences." She added that sometimes it is not possible to effectively care for a family member at home.
贝茜称“他们是完全不同的经历。”她还说，有时候在家里有效地照顾一位家人是不太可能的事情。
Warraich said the rise of home hospice services has helped more people spend their last days at home. Hospice care is set up to help those who are very sick.
瓦莱奇表示，家庭临终关怀服务的兴起已经帮助了更多人在家里度过他们最后的日子。临终关怀是为了帮助病重者。
Warraich said, "I have met many patients who just want to spend one day at home, around their dog, in their bed, able to eat home food."
瓦莱奇表示：“我遇到了很多患者，他们只想在家里度过一天，他们的狗呆在身边，躺在自己床上，能够吃上家常饭。”
He added, "Ideally we'd like to see people live longer and with fewer disabilities. We have work to do there."
他还说：“理想情况下，我们希望人们可以长寿，可以更少生病。在这方面我们任重而道远。”
I'm Jonathan Evans.
我是乔纳森·埃文斯。(51VOA.COM原创翻译，禁止转载，违者必究！)