TY - JOUR
T1 - End of life and women aging with a disability
AU - Volker, Deborah L.
AU - Zolnierek, Cynthia
AU - Harrison, Tracie
AU - Walker, Janiece
N1 - Funding Information:
The author gratefully acknowledges financial support by the German Science Foundation (while he was with Heidelberg University), by the director and Ocean Research Division of Scripps Institution of Oceanography and by the California Space Institute (grant "Field measurement of small scale water surface waves with imaging optical devices").
PY - 2012/6/1
Y1 - 2012/6/1
N2 - Approximately 21 million noninstitutionalized Americans with physical disabilities will ultimately face end-of-life [EOL] issues. Studies have documented disparate care and poorer outcomes for persons with preexisting disabilities who have life-limiting illnesses, which raises the question of how EOL experiences may differ for these individuals. The aim of this qualitative, descriptive study was to explore how EOL issues might emerge within the life stories of women aging with functional disabilities. Interview data were obtained from a larger, ongoing ethnographic study focused on the creation of an explanatory model of health disparities of disablement in women with mobility impairment. Each participant was interviewed three to four times using a life-course perspective that captures life trajectories and transitions experienced over time. For this analysis, 41 interviews were selected from 20 participants who discussed issues related to death and dying. Content analysis of the data revealed five analytic categories: death as a signpost, impact of others' deaths, deaths that affected personal insights and choice, EOL possibilities, and a personal brush with death. EOL issues were manifested in a variety of ways that revealed both determination to remain as independent as possible within the context of declining functional ability and uncertainty regarding the future.
AB - Approximately 21 million noninstitutionalized Americans with physical disabilities will ultimately face end-of-life [EOL] issues. Studies have documented disparate care and poorer outcomes for persons with preexisting disabilities who have life-limiting illnesses, which raises the question of how EOL experiences may differ for these individuals. The aim of this qualitative, descriptive study was to explore how EOL issues might emerge within the life stories of women aging with functional disabilities. Interview data were obtained from a larger, ongoing ethnographic study focused on the creation of an explanatory model of health disparities of disablement in women with mobility impairment. Each participant was interviewed three to four times using a life-course perspective that captures life trajectories and transitions experienced over time. For this analysis, 41 interviews were selected from 20 participants who discussed issues related to death and dying. Content analysis of the data revealed five analytic categories: death as a signpost, impact of others' deaths, deaths that affected personal insights and choice, EOL possibilities, and a personal brush with death. EOL issues were manifested in a variety of ways that revealed both determination to remain as independent as possible within the context of declining functional ability and uncertainty regarding the future.
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U2 - 10.1089/jpm.2011.0506
DO - 10.1089/jpm.2011.0506
M3 - Article
C2 - 22536990
AN - SCOPUS:84861880071
SN - 1096-6218
VL - 15
SP - 667
EP - 671
JO - Journal of palliative medicine
JF - Journal of palliative medicine
IS - 6
ER -