Issues in End-of-Life Social Services for Community-Dwelling Older Adults

Abstract

This article examines the state of end-of-life social services for home-dwelling older adults and suggests ways to improve these services so that older adults may live and die with dignity in their own communities. I categorize end-of-life social services into three areas—support for self-determination, end-of-life care, and funeral support—and examine the current status and limitations of each. I argue that enabling home-dwelling older adults to conclude their lives with dignity requires enhancing hospice care, strengthening the integration of care services rather than delivering them in a segmented manner, improving service information systems, increasing support for families, and advancing home-based end-of-life procedures and related information.