So Help Me, God: Religiosity and End-of-Life Choices in a Nationally Representative Sample

Studies show significant associations between the various dimensions of religiousness and end-of-life (EOL) decisions, such as individuals with high religiosity are more likely to choose aggressive care at EOL. However, these studies focused largely on smaller cancer populations. To our knowledge, there is no existing literature about the association between religiosity and EOL decisions within a national sample of older adults. The objective of this study was to investigate the association between religiosity and advance directive (AD) completion, and among those with an AD, documented EOL care preferences, using a nationally representative sample. This was an observational study. Descriptive statistics and logistic regression were conducted with 6051 decedents from the Health and Retirement Study using self-reported frequency of religious service attendance, importance of religion, and religious affiliation. The dependent variables were AD completion and care preference. The independent variables were self-reported frequency of religious service attendance, importance of religion, and religious affiliation. Protestants and Catholics had significantly lower odds of AD completion, compared with those with no religious preferences. Decedents who reported religion as very important had significantly lower odds of AD completion than decedents who said religion is not too important. Furthermore, decedents who attended religious services at least once a week, compared with those who do not attend, had significantly higher odds of completing an AD. Among those who completed an AD, neither religiosity nor religious affiliation was significantly associated with preference for prolonged care. Our study demonstrates the influence religiosity has on the development of ADs, prompting seriously ill patients' religious needs to be recognized and supported. It further suggests that religious services may provide a good opportunity for promoting knowledge and completion of ADs.