In a society of long lives, parent and child life can overlap by as much as 50 years. Most children now experience the death of their parents as adults. Many of the 2.5 million deaths each year in the United States are parents. Parental loss is a risk factor for subsequent illness. The Health and Retirement Survey is a representative cohort of persons aged 50 to 70 years. Using the 2010 cohort data, we estimate risk for use of health care after the death of a parent. Loss is a near universal experience in the cohort (87%). A report of any loss increases risk of health care utilization by 20% to 30%. For a longevity society, preventing loss-related hospitalization is a measurable outcome for bereavement care.
SilversteinMGiarrussoG. Aging and family life: a decade review. J Marriage Fam. 2010;72(5):1039–1058.
2.
ChristakisNAFowlerJH. Social contagion theory: examining dynamic social networks and human behavior. Stat Med. 2013;32(4):556–577. doi:10.1002/sim.5408.
3.
ChristakisNAAllisonPD. Mortality after the hospitalization of a spouse. N Engl J Med. 2006;354(7):719–730.
4.
SassonIUmbersonDJ. Widowhood and depression: new light on gender differences, selection, and psychological adjustment. 2013. J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci. 2014;69(1):135–145.
5.
LavelleBSmockPJ. Divorce and women’s risk of health insurance loss. J Health Soc Behav. 2012;53(4):413–431.
6.
RostilaMSaarelaJKawachiI. Mortality in parents following the death of a child: a nationwide follow-up study from Sweden. J Epidemiol Commun Health. 2012;66(10):927–933.
7.
RostilaMSaarelaJM. Time does not heal all wounds: mortality following the death of a parent. J Marriage Fam. 2011;73(1):236–249.
8.
RostilaMSaarelaJMKawachiI. The forgotten griever: a nationwide follow-up study of mortality subsequent to the death of a sibling. Am J Epidemiol. 2012;176(4):338–346.
9.
RostilaMSaarelaJKawachiI. Mortality from myocardial infarction after the death of a sibling: a nationwide follow-up study from Sweden. J Am Heart Assoc. 2013;2(2):e000046.
10.
HoyertD. 75 Years of mortality in the United States 1935-2010. NCHS Data Brief. 201;(88):1–8.
11.
National Center for Health Statistics. Health United States, 2012 With Special Feature on Emergency Care. Hyattsville MD: National Center for Health Statistics; 2013.
12.
WrightAAKeatingNLBalboniTAMatulonisUABlockSDPrigersonHG. Place of death: correlations with quality of life of patients with cancer and predictors of bereaved caregivers’ mental health. J Clin Oncol. 2010;28(29):4457–4464.
13.
National Center for Health Statistics. Health, United States, 2010 With Special Feature on Death and Dying. Hyattsville MD: 2011.
MurrayCJAbrahamJAliMK. The state of US health, 1990-2010: burden of diseases, injuries, and risk factors. JAMA. 2013;310(6):591–608. doi:10.1001/jama.2013.13805.
17.
LantzPMGolbersteinEzraHouseJSMorenoffJ. Socioeconomic and behavioral risk factors for mortality in a national 19-year prospective study of U.S. adults. Soc Sci Med. 2010;70(10):1558–1566.
18.
FrijtersPShieldsMAHaisken-DeNewJP. The increasingly mixed proportional hazard model: an application to socioeconomic status, health shocks, and mortality. J Bus Econ Stat. 2011;29(2):271–281.
19.
KaufmannCNCanhamSLMojtabaiR. Insomnia and health services utilization in middle-aged and older adults: results from the health and retirement study. J Gerontol Series A Biol Sci Med Sci. 2013;68(12):1512–1517. doi:10.1093.
20.
SariN. Physical inactivity and its impact on healthcare utilization. Health Econ. 2009;18(8):885–901. doi:10.1002/hec.1408.
21.
WolfenstetterSWenigCM. Costing of physical activity programs in primary prevention: a review of the literature. Health Econ Rev. 2011;1(1):17. doi:10.1186/2191-1991-1-17.
22.
SimpsonCAllegraJCEzeamamaAEElkinsJMilesT. The impact of mid- and late life loss on insomnia: findings from the Health and Retirement Study, 2010 Cohort. Fam Community Health. 2014;37(4):317–326.
23.
CarterPAMikanSQSimpsonC. A feasibility study of a two-session home-based cognitive behavioral therapy—insomnia intervention for bereaved family caregivers. Palliat Support Care. 2009;7(2):197–206. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S147895150900025X.
24.
SimpsonCCarterP. Short-term changes in sleep, mastery and stress: impacts on depression and health in dementia caregivers. Geriatr Nurs. 2013;34(6):509–516.
25.
ShengXKillianT. Over time dynamics of monetary intergenerational exchanges. J Fam Econ Iss. 2009;30:268–281. doi:10.1007/s10834-009-9159-6.
26.
BarryCLCarlsonMDThompsonJW. Caring for grieving family members: results from a national hospice survey. Med Care. 2012;50(7):578–584.
27.
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Manual. Chapter 9: Coverage of Hospice Services Under Part A. 40.2.3—Bereavement Counseling. Vol Revision 156, 06-01-2012.2001:(Rev. 141, Issued: 103-102-111, Effective: 101-101-111: Implementation:103-123-111): Bereavement counseling consists of counseling services provided to the individual’s family before and after the individual’s death. Bereavement counseling is a required hospice service, provided for a period up to 141 year following the patients’ death. It is not separately reimbursable. Bereavement specifics are found in Pub. 100-107, State Operations Manual, Appendix M, 142CFR 418.164(d)(141), L596.
28.
CarrD. The social stratification of older adults’ preparations for end-of-life health care. J Health Soc Behav. 2012;53(3):297–312.
