Abstract
Objective: We examined whether older adults’ health and well-being during their final year of life predicts end-of-life (EOL) quality of life (QOL) and quality of care (QOC). Methods: Using data from deceased participants (n = 1125) in the 2011–2015 National Health and Aging Trends Study, we performed latent class analysis to identify profiles of health and well-being, and we examined the association between these classes and EOL QOL and QOC. Results: Four classes were identified: healthy/happy (20%), frail/happy (37%), cognitively impaired/moderately distressed (27%), and highly impaired/highly distressed (16%). Persons in the highly impaired/highly distressed class showed a poorer QOL at the EOL, whereas those in the healthy/happy class reported a lower level of QOC at the EOL. Discussion: The benefits of maintaining health and well-being often carry forward to EOL. Older adults with high impairment and distress merit greater attention such as assuring care and advance care plans.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 1475-1485 |
| Number of pages | 11 |
| Journal | Journal of Aging and Health |
| Volume | 32 |
| Issue number | 10 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 2020 Jul 3 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: Nanyang Technological University (Start-Up Grant/No. M4082337).
Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2020.
All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes
- Health(social science)
- Sociology and Political Science
- Life-span and Life-course Studies