African American Elders: End-of-Life Perspectives This proposal is being submitted by a new investigator in response to PA- 00-053, NIA Pilot Research Grant Program, Research Objective 3 Racial/Ethnic Differences. The influence of cultural factors on death, dying and bereavement has been largely neglected in research (Wass & Neimeyer, 1995).
The specific aims of this study are to: (a) describe urban African American elders' beliefs, values, and concerns about end-of-life care, (b) identify urban African American elder's expectations of health care providers at the end-of-life, and (c) determine urban African Americans elders' knowledge of end-of-life options. A modified ethnographic approach will be used in this study. The religious community and parish nurses will be utilized to facilitate access to African American elders. Data collection methods include: (a) interviews with elders, clergy, lay leaders in the church, private nurses, and funeral directors, (b) participant observation and (c) field notes. Data will be analyzed using qualitative thematic analysis. A community advisory board comprised of clergy, funeral directors, lay leaders in church, and parish nurses will be convened to assist the investigator with establishing credibility and trust in the community. The community advisory board also will review aggregate data to enhance the validity of the investigator's interpretation f preliminary findings. The community advisory board is considered a cultural broker. A cultural broker is a concept from political anthropology. Cultural brokers serve as a bridge, link, or mediator between two cultural groups (Greetz, 1960; Wolf, 1956), translating across cultures to provide an emic perspective, that is the perspective of persons in that culture. The results of the study will provide a foundation for designing and testing interventions to promote culturally sensitive end-of- life care for African American elders.
