Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy Staff Publications
Publication Date
10-1-2024
Journal
AMA Journal of Ethics
DOI
10.1001/amajethics.2024.778
PMID
39361391
Published Open-Access
yes
Keywords
Humans, Health Equity, Terminal Care, Prognosis, Decision Making, Healthcare Disparities, Ethnic and Racial Minorities
Abstract
Racial and ethnic inequity exists throughout the lifespan, including at the end of life (EOL). Although prognostication is inherently fraught with uncertainty, many underrepresented minorities get prognoses that are overly optimistic, which can exacerbate inequity by depriving patients of details needed to make informed decisions and plan for EOL care. This article applies a health equity lens to facilitate better ethical and clinical understandings of how to care for patients of color more equitably at the EOL.