Is Death “The Great Equalizer”? The Social Stratification of Death Quality in the United States

Carr, Deborah

doi:10.1177/0002716215596982

Cited by 13 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 20 publications

(39 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…30 Another explanation for income-related disparities in ADs completion has been identified by Carr. 31 Using data from the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study, she showed that older adults with lower levels of household income were less likely to have living wills or a health-care proxy. 31 She argued that individuals with higher incomes are prompted to complete ADs by attorneys during estate planning.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…31 Using data from the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study, she showed that older adults with lower levels of household income were less likely to have living wills or a health-care proxy. 31 She argued that individuals with higher incomes are prompted to complete ADs by attorneys during estate planning. 31 In other words, they are often not completing ADs on their own accord but are instead nudged to complete ADs during routine estate-planning sessions.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…31 She argued that individuals with higher incomes are prompted to complete ADs by attorneys during estate planning. 31 In other words, they are often not completing ADs on their own accord but are instead nudged to complete ADs during routine estate-planning sessions. In contrast, those with lower incomes, who have less of a need to talk with an attorney about estate planning, are unlikely to be asked by a legal professional to complete ADs.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Is Annual Income a Predictor of Completion of Advance Directives (ADs) in Patients With Cancer

Saeed

Xing

Tancredi

et al. 2018

Am J Hosp Palliat Care

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Context: Completion of advance directives (ADs) enhances the likelihood of receiving goal-concordant treatments near the end of life. Previous research on community samples have shown that completion of ADs is less common in lower socioeconomic status demographic group; there is a paucity of such research in patients with cancer. Objectives: To study the effect of income and education on the completion of ADs. Hypothesis: Patients with cancer having lower incomes and education levels would be less likely to report completing ADs. Methods: We conducted cross-sectional analyses of data provided by patients (n = 265) enrolled in the Values and Options in Cancer Care clinical trial. Patients with advanced cancer reported whether they had (1) completed a living will or (2) designated a health-care proxy. Response options for both questions were yes (scored 1), no (scored 0), and unsure (scored 0). We studied the association of lower household income (≤US$20 000) and education level (never attended college) with AD scores. Results: Patients with lower annual incomes had lower AD scores (estimate −0.44; confidence intervals [CI]: −0.71 to −0.16, P = .001); the association between higher educational attainment (some college or more) and completion of ADs was not statistically significant (estimate 0.04, CI: −0.16 to 0.24, P = .70). Conclusion: Interventions to promote completion of ADs among lower income patients with serious illnesses are needed.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Is Annual Income a Predictor of Completion of Advance Directives (ADs) in Patients With Cancer

Saeed

Xing

Tancredi

et al. 2018

Am J Hosp Palliat Care

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…They reflect “durable inequalities” along racial, socioeconomic, and gender lines that structure our lives from birth (Elder, Johnson, & Crosnoe, ; Tilly, ). The long reach of American inequality profoundly shapes older adults' life expectancies, their relative levels of health, the social ties they can call upon, how they make sense of their circumstances, and even how they die (Abramson, ; Carr, ; Hayward & Gorman, ; Umberson, Crosnoe, & Reczek, ; Umberson, Thomeer, Williams, Thomas, & Liu, ). Although most aging Americans face a set of similar challenges associated with the physical and social predicaments of growing old in a youth centered society, they do so in starkly unequal contexts, with unequal resources, after a lifetime of exposure to inequality (Abramson, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

What is new with old? What old age teaches us about inequality and stratification

Abramson

Portacolone

2017

Sociology Compass

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Aging is remarkably unequal. Who survives to grow old in America and the circumstances they face once there reflect durable racial, socioeconomic, and gender inequalities that structure our lives from birth. Yet within the field of social stratification and mainstream sociology proper, examinations of the rapidly growing population of older Americans are often relegated to a “gerontological” periphery. This essay posits that the failure to place aging as a core concern in stratification and inequality is a missed opportunity. We argue for the importance of reintegrating studies on the stratification of aging and explain why such a move is necessary. Specifically, we posit that (a) examining the aging population is necessary for understanding American inequality because aging is an outcome that is ubiquitous yet highly stratified; (b) aging and being seen as “old” in a youth-focused society are stratifying processes in their own right; and (c) later life provides for analytical comparisons that are illustrative of how key mechanisms of inequality structure and stratify. After examining insights provided by a new wave of research on the aging U.S. population, we revisit the implications for understanding inequality and stratification in a graying and unequal America.

show abstract

“…There were 3 studies exploring physical symptom burden [ 42 , 44 , 69 , 72 ].Lower income and education levels were generally associated with higher physical symptom burden, with pain being widely reported [ 42 , 69 ]. Poverty was also found to be associated with increased receipt of medication for pain, dyspnoea and emotional distress [ 72 ].…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The end of life experiences of people living with socio-economic deprivation in the developed world: an integrative review

et al. 2022

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background Those experiencing socioeconomic deprivation have poorer quality of health throughout their life course which can result in poorer quality of death – with decreased access to palliative care services, greater use of acute care, and reduced access to preferred place of care compared with patients from less deprived populations. Aim To summarise the current global evidence from developed countries on end-of-life experience for those living with socio-economic deprivation. Design Integrative review in accordance with PRISMA. A thorough search of major databases from 2010–2020, using clear definitions of end-of-life care and well-established proxy indicators of socio-economic deprivation. Empirical research describing experience of adult patients in the last year of life care were included. Results Forty studies were included from a total of 3508 after screening and selection. These were deemed to be of high quality; from a wide range of countries with varying healthcare systems; and encompassed all palliative care settings for patients with malignant and non-malignant diagnoses. Three global themes were identified: 1) multi-dimensional symptom burden, 2) preferences and planning and 3) health and social care interactions at the end of life. Conclusions Current models of healthcare services are not meeting the needs of those experiencing socioeconomic deprivation at the end-of-life. Further work is needed to understand the disparity in care, particularly around ensuring patients voices are heard and can influence service development and delivery.

show abstract

Is Death “The Great Equalizer”? The Social Stratification of Death Quality in the United States

Cited by 13 publications

References 20 publications

Is Annual Income a Predictor of Completion of Advance Directives (ADs) in Patients With Cancer

Is Annual Income a Predictor of Completion of Advance Directives (ADs) in Patients With Cancer

What is new with old? What old age teaches us about inequality and stratification

The end of life experiences of people living with socio-economic deprivation in the developed world: an integrative review

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About