Detroit Area Study 1999: Life and Death Decision Making Survey

A 1999 survey queried respondents from three counties in the Detroit, Michigan, area about health, satisfaction with health care, and end-of-life decisions. The survey, conducted by Renée R. Anspach at the University of Michigan, explored attitudes on topics including physician-assisted suicide, the death penalty, abortion, and terminating life support. Background information collected includes marital status, employment, political orientation, and income.

Use Cases

• Modeling public attitudes on physician-assisted suicide based on survey questions about the 1998 legalization proposal.
• Analyzing correlations between political orientation and opinions on abortion in certain situations as described in the survey.
• Studying trust in healthcare providers based on questions about trusting a provider's judgment and perceptions of HMO cost concerns.
• Investigating demographic factors influencing experiences with end-of-life decisions, referencing questions about whether respondents or their family had such experiences.

Strengths

• Survey covers a specific geographic area (three counties in the Detroit, Michigan, area), providing localized insights.
• Description details multiple thematic areas including health self-rating, trust in providers, and opinions on life support termination.
• Includes background variables such as marital status, employment, political orientation, and income for demographic analysis.

Limitations

• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Last update date is unknown; freshness unverified.

Provenance

Source

University of Michigan, Renée R. Anspach

Collection Method

Survey of respondents from three counties in the Detroit, Michigan, area.

Time Range

1999

Geography

Three counties in the Detroit, Michigan, area, United States.