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Article
Factors That Influence Elders’ Decisions to Formulate Advance Directives
Social Work
  • Crystal Dea Moore, Skidmore College
  • S. Sherman
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
1-1-1999
Published In
Journal of Gerontological Social Work
Pages
21-39
Abstract

Nine minority and eleven White low-income communi- ty-dwelling senior adults participated in semi-structured qualitative in- terviews regarding end-of-life deci sion-making related to the comple- tion of advance directives (e.g., living wills and health care proxies). The seniors were asked to discuss the role of their own evaluations and beliefs and their perceptions of the influence of significant others in their decisions to complete advance directives. Religious affiliation and a measure of religiosity were also examined. The participants over- whelmingly evaluated the completion of advance directives as positive, but many of the seniors reported that discussing end-of-life issues with their children was difficult. In addition, depth of religious belief figured prominently in medical treatment planning for some of the participants, particularly the minority seniors.

Keywords
  • Advance directives,
  • end-of-life decision-making,
  • religiosity
Disciplines
Citation Information
Crystal Dea Moore and S. Sherman. "Factors That Influence Elders’ Decisions to Formulate Advance Directives" Vol. 31 Iss. 1-2 (1999)
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/crystal-moore/18/