The increasing incidence of cancer, an aging population, health care restructuring and consumer preferences have resulted in a demand for palliative home care and an urgent need to understand home care utilization norms for patients at the end-of-life. This retrospective analysis of secondary study linked databases to exam use of publicly funded home care resources for a cohort of 418 cancer patients prior to death. Univariate analysis and hierarchical regression modeling were used to examine relationships between predisposing, enabling and illness characteristics on home care use, length of the final home care episode and place of death. The impact of an integrated palliative home care project on the probability of home death was also explored. Place of death, the presence of gastrointestinal symptoms and type of cancer were determinants for home care expenditures in univariate analysis and male gender, a diagnosis of brain or head and neck cancer were predictive of home care expenditures in multivariate models. Symptoms of jaundice, respiratory and cerebrovascular comorbid illnesses, and income were determinants for length of the final stay on home care prior to death, whereas income and respiratory comorbidity were predictive of LOS in multivariate analysis. Subjects with a diagnosis of brain cancer, gastrointestinal symptoms, male gender, living with someone and a college or university education had increased odds of dying at home. The findings of the study has implications for health care policy and the need for further research to examine causal relationships between integrated models of interdisciplinary palliative home care, resource utilization and probability of home death and appropriateness of care. This paper will provide a summary of the research findings highlighting implications for health care policy, palliative home care service development and further research.