Our aim is to conduct exploration analyses looking for predictable patterns during predeath among the 690 decedents of the Massachusetts Health Care Panel Study (MHCPS). A broad array of variables will be examined for predeath associations, including functional status (physical, social, cognitive, and psychological) and health care utilization patterns. The focus of the exploratory analyses will be to plot levels of function or utilization on the vertical axis with months prior to death on the horizontal axis for age-sex subgroups of decedents. Tests of trends will indicate the significance of any associations observed in the non-intervention study of normal aging among a representative sample of non-institutionalized aged 65 or older.
