Skip to main content

ETHNOS_APP

Home • Search • Journals • List 0

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

Bibliographic Data

ID5742258
AuthorsDeborah Carr (0000-0002-8175-5303, corresponding author)
Year2016
Volume663
Issue1
Pages331-354
Publication date2016-01-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueThe Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0002-7162 • E-ISSN: 1552-3349
PublisherSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/0002716215596982
OpenAlexW2398254734
LanguageEN
Citations received8
References cited19

Socioeconomic status (SES) gradients in mortality risk are well documented, although less is known about whether the quality of older adults' dying experiences is stratified by SES. I focus on six core components of a "good death": pain and symptom management, acceptance, medical care that is concordant with one's preferences, dying at home, emotional preparation, and formal preparations for end-of-life care. Analyses are based on four data sets spanning the 1980s through 2010s, a period marked by rising economic inequalities: Changing Lives of Older Couples (1986-1994), Wisconsin Longitudinal Study (1993-2010), New Jersey End of Life study (2005-2007), and Wisconsin Study of Families and Loss (2010-2014). I find evidence of SES disparities in two outcomes only: pain and advance care planning (ACP), widely considered an important step toward a "good death." Implications for health care policy and practice, against the backdrop of the Affordable Care Act implementation, are discussed

Economic growth · Economics · Environmental health · Health care · Inequality · Socioeconomic status · Sociology · Demography · Geriatric Care and Nursing Homes · Grief, Bereavement, and Mental Health · Medicine · Palliative Care and End-of-Life Issues · Psychology · Gerontology

  • Occupational differences in advance care planning

    Open Access•Deborah Carr, Lucie Kalousova et al.•Social Science & Medicine•2021

  • Kinlessness and end-of-life care quality

    Open Access•Y Pei, Zexi Zhou et al.•The Journals of Gerontology…•2025

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

    Open Access•Corey M Abramson, E Portacolone•Sociology Compass•2017

  • Am I Going to Die?” Considering the Preparation for Research on an Example of Hospice Patients

    Open Access•Weronika Kamińska•Qualitative Sociology Review•2024

  • Covid-19 Death Exposure among Adults in the United States

    Open Access•D E Willis, Jennifer A Andersen et al.•OMEGA - Journal of Death and Dying•2022

  • Collusion in the Clinic

    Open Access•Ashley Tate, T Stivers•Qualitative Health Research•2025

  • American Medical Sociology and Health Problems in the Global South

    Open Access•R Farber, Joseph Harris•Sociological Perspectives•2022

  • The Social Autopsy

    Open Access•Stefan Timmerman, Pamela J Prickett•Sociological Methods & Research•2023

  • Black wealth, white wealth

    Melvin L Oliver•Black wealth, white wealth•2006

  • Differences In Life Expectancy Due To Race And Educational Differences Are Widening, And Many May Not Catch Up

    Jay Olshansky, S Jay Olshansky et al.•Health Affairs•2012

  • In Search of a Good Death

    Open Access•Karen E Steinhauser, Elizabeth C Clipp et al.•Annals of Internal Medicine•2000

  • Factors Considered Important at the End of Life by Patients, Family, Physicians, and Other Care Providers

    Karen E Steinhauser•JAMA•2000

  • Advance Directives and Outcomes of Surrogate Decision Making before Death

    Maria J Silveira, Scott Y H Kim et al.•New England Journal of Medicine•2010

  • Racial Differences in End-Of-Life Planning

    Open Access•Deborah Carr•OMEGA - Journal of Death and Dying•2011

  • End-of-Life Health Care Planning Among Young-Old Adults

    David Carr, Dmitry Khodyakov•The Journals of Gerontology…•2007

  • Research Design in End-of-Life Research

    Linda K George•The Gerontologist•2002

  • A 'Good Death' for Whom? Quality of Spouse's Death and Psychological Distress among Older Widowed Persons

    Deborah Carr•Journal of Health and Social…•2003

  • The Social Stratification of Older Adults' Preparations for End-of-Life Health Care

    Open Access•Deborah Carr•Journal of Health and Social…•2012

  • Social Conditions as Fundamental Causes of Health Inequalities

    Open Access•Jo C Phelan, Jo Phelan et al.•Journal of Health and Social…•2010

Unique citing works8
Citations per year0,89
Citation span2017 - 2025 (9)
Citation velocityrecent
Highly citedNo
Citation typesNeutral: 7
Ethnos_APP • Open Source Project • MIT License • Frontend v2.0.0 • Privacy and Cookies • API Documentation: api.ethnos.app/docs • API Source Code: GitHub • DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.17049435 • Frontend Source Code: GitHub • DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.17050053 • cruz.rio.br • Expectantes Misericordiae