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Trajectories of End of Life: A Systematic Review

Author

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  • Jiska Cohen-Mansfield
  • Michal Skornick-Bouchbinder
  • Shai BrillMD

Abstract

ObjectivesBecause End of life (EOL) is becoming an increasingly long life stage, this paper aims to describe the delineation of EOL by reviewing studies which examine (a) terminal decline (TD), the timing of change in slope of decline in specific abilities; and (b) trajectories of decline in areas such as function, health care expenditures, and well-being according to cause of death.MethodsStudies were identified through Google Scholar, PsycNET, and PubMed.ResultsTD was identified in diverse domains. Most findings focused on decline of cognitive abilities, and they reported this to occur 3–7 years prior to death. TD in wellbeing was found to begin 3–5 years prior to death. Trajectories by cause of death generally examined sudden death, terminal illness, organ failure, and frailty, and findings described differences in costs, function, and wellbeing, though examining a shorter predeath period than the TD literature.DiscussionFurther research is needed to combine methods of investigation in order to assist the health care system in personalizing services to the trajectories of decline, and in enabling caregivers to prepare for the EOL experience.

Suggested Citation

  • Jiska Cohen-Mansfield & Michal Skornick-Bouchbinder & Shai BrillMD, 2018. "Trajectories of End of Life: A Systematic Review," The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, The Gerontological Society of America, vol. 73(4), pages 564-572.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:geronb:v:73:y:2018:i:4:p:564-572.
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1093/geronb/gbx093
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    Cited by:

    1. Sarah Vilpert & Carmen Borrat-Besson & Gian Domenico Borasio & Jürgen Maurer, 2020. "Associations of end-of-life preferences and trust in institutions with public support for assisted suicide evidence from nationally representative survey data of older adults in Switzerland," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 15(4), pages 1-18, April.
    2. Yingchuan Wang & Yue Huang & Han Wu & Gengsheng He & Shuguang Li & Bo Chen, 2021. "Association between Dietary Patterns and Frailty Prevalence in Shanghai Suburban Elders: A Cross-Sectional Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(20), pages 1-14, October.
    3. Susanne Kelfve & Jonas W. Wastesson & Bettina Meinow, 2023. "Length of the period with late life dependency: Does the age of onset make a difference?," European Journal of Ageing, Springer, vol. 20(1), pages 1-9, December.

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