Exploring chronically ill seniors' attitudes about discussing death and postmortem medical procedures.

Exploring chronically ill seniors' attitudes about discussing death and postmortem medical procedures. Research Abstract Details 

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Exploring chronically ill seniors' attitudes about discussing death and postmortem medical procedures. Abstract Text:

Proxy decisions about postmortem medical procedures must consider the dead patient's likely preferences. Ethnic- and sex-based attitudes surely underlie such preferences but lack sufficient characterization to guide decisions. Therefore, this exploratory study interviewed Mexican-American, Euroamerican, and African-American seniors in San Antonio, Texas, for their attitudes about discussing death before it occurs and about organ donation, autopsy, and practice on cadavers. A rigorous content analysis identified themes. Majority attitudes of an ethnic group or sex subgroup here may characterize the group generally. Attitudes about discussing death differed only by ethnic group. Mexican Americans and Euroamericans favored such discussions, but African Americans did not. Attitudes about the postmortem procedures differed by ethnic group and sex. Overall, Mexican Americans viewed the procedures most favorably; Euroamericans, less so; and African Americans, least so. Men and women differed further within ethnic groups. Mexican-American men and women split evenly over organ donation, the men expressed no majority preference about autopsies and the women agreed to them, and the men refused and the women agreed to practice on their cadavers. Euroamerican men expressed no majority preferences, but Euroamerican women agreed to organ donation, had no majority preference about autopsies, and refused practice on their cadavers. African-American men expressed no majority preferences, and African-American women expressed none about organ donation or autopsies but refused practice on their cadavers. If confirmed, these ethnic- and sex-based attitudes can help health professionals tailor postmortem care to individual patients' preferences.

Exploring chronically ill seniors' attitudes about discussing death and postmortem medical procedures. Publishing Authors By Initials

For similar health care facilities, manpower, and services: health services: tissue and organ procurement research abstracts see: health care facilities, manpower, and services: health services: tissue and organ procurement research

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Exploring chronically ill seniors' attitudes about discussing death and postmortem medical procedures. Journal Published:

PUBLICATION TYPE: Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov

Journal: Journal of the American Geriatrics Society

VOLUME: 53

Page Numbers: 895-900

Journal Abbreviation: J Am Geriatr Soc

ISSN: 0002-8614

DAY: 10

MONTH: May

YEAR: 2005

Exploring chronically ill seniors' attitudes about discussing death and postmortem medical procedures. Information

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LANGUAGE: eng

NlmUniqueID: 7503062

Exploring chronically ill seniors' attitudes about discussing death and postmortem medical procedures. Keywords Mesh Terms:

KEYWORDS: Tissue and Organ Procurement

MESH TERMS: trends

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Grant and Affiliation Information for Exploring chronically ill seniors' attitudes about discussing death and postmortem medical procedures.

AFFILIATION: Department of Medicine, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas 78229, USA. perkins@uthscsa.edu

Country: United States

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MEDLINETA: J Am Geriatr Soc

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