trajectories of dying
the rate of movement and the length of the passage from a life-threatening condition to death. In 1968, U.S. sociologists Barney G. Glaser (1930– ) and Anselm L. Strauss (1916–1996) developed a classification of dying trajectories, two of which have received particular attention from clinicians and researchers. The first, the lingering trajectory, is often characteristic of long-term, terminally ill patients who seldom receive aggressive, all-out treatment. By contrast, the second is the quick trajectory associated with an emergency situation, in which any possible intervention to save a person’s life might be attempted.