Social class differences in health and care in the year before death.
OBJECTIVE
The aim was to identify any social class differences in health and care in the year before death emerging from a wider study of life before death.


METHODS
Data were collected at interviews, mainly of close relatives, with those who knew most about the people's lives in the year before they died. The sample was a random sample of adult (15 and over) deaths in 10 areas of England in 1987.


METHODS
Information was obtained about 639 persons, 80% of the initial sample of 800 deaths.


RESULTS
While middle class people die at an older age, the symptoms and physical restrictions reported for middle class and working class people were similar, and middle class people were reported to have a better quality of life before death. More working class people were felt to be in financial need.


CONCLUSIONS
Money and class contribute to the quality of life before death as well as postponing death.
Cartwright
A
A
Institute for Social Studies in Medical Care, Hampstead, London, United Kingdom.
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003142:Communication; D003643:Death; D004739:England; D005192:Family Health; D005194:Family Practice; D006297:Health Services Accessibility; D006707:Homes for the Aged; D017051:Hospice Care; D006760:Hospitalization; D006798:Housing; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009735:Nursing Homes; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care; D011788:Quality of Life; D012111:Residence Characteristics; D012923:Social Class; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors