title: Recounts of elderly deaths: endorsements for the Patient Self-Determination Act.
abstract: Circumstances in the last 3 days of life were examined for a sample of 1,227 elderly decedents in Fairfield County, Connecticut, in 1985. Interviews were with a surviving next-of-kin or a nonrelative about 3 months after the event of death. Most decedents were in a hospital or a nursing home the night before death (45% and 24%, respectively). In the days preceding death, about 34% of the decedents knew that death was impending and about 40% had difficulty recognizing family members. These and other findings support the need for elderly people to complete advance directives.
authors.affiliation: Epidemiology, Demography, and Biometry Program, National Institute on Aging, Bethesda, MD 20892.
authors.forename: D J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Foley
authors.forename: T P
authors.initials: TP
authors.lastname: Miles
authors.forename: D B
authors.initials: DB
authors.lastname: Brock
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Phillips
mesh_terms: D016223:Advance Directives / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001293:Attitude to Death; D003643:Death; D005190:Family; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010358:Patient Participation / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014481:United States