Where There's a Will: The Link Between Estate Planning and Disparities in Advance Care Planning by White and Black Older Adults.

TitleWhere There's a Will: The Link Between Estate Planning and Disparities in Advance Care Planning by White and Black Older Adults.
Publication TypeJournal Article
Year of Publication2018
AuthorsKoss, CS, Baker, TA
JournalResearch on Aging
Volume3
Issue1
Pagination281-302
ISSN Number1552-7573
KeywordsAdvance care planning, Advance directives, Decision making, Racial/ethnic differences
Abstract

Data from the Health and Retirement Study ( n = 6,946) were used to test whether differences in estate planning accounted for disparities in advance care planning between White and Black older adults. White participants were more likely to have advance directives after controlling for demographic, health, and financial variables. When estate planning was also controlled, the odds of having an advance directive were equal for White and Black participants. In contrast, Whites remained more likely to discuss end-of-life preferences after controlling for demographic, health, financial, and estate planning variables. White participants were almost four times as likely to have wills or trusts. Wealth, income, and home ownership were predictive of estate planning. Financial disparities contributed to lower rates of estate planning which in turn explained in large part why Black older adults were less likely to have advance directives but did not account for race disparities in advance care discussion.

DOI10.1177/0164027517697116
User Guide Notes

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29298597?dopt=Abstract

Alternate JournalRes Aging
Citation Key9449
PubMed ID29298597