The effects of confronting one’s own end of life on older individuals and those with a life-threatening disease: A systematic literature review

SAGE Palliative Medicine & Chronic Care

This episode features researchers from the the University of Cologne (Germany) from the Faculty of Human Sciences and Faculty of Medicine, Graduate School GROW – Gerontological Research on Well-being, and also the Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital, Department of Palliative Medicine. The researchers are Helena Kukla, Angélique Herrler, Dr Julia Strupp and Professor Raymomd Voltz. Awareness of one’s impending death can lead to existential distress, thus impairing psychological comfort and general well-being. Psychosocial support as an emerging need can alleviate symptoms of distress and enhance well-being. Research on behavioral and mental confrontation with one’s own end of life and its effects on measures of psychological comfort is limited. Evaluated approaches of confronting the own end of life can be grouped into psychosocial interventions, meaning-enhancing interventions, educational courses and experiential learning. The effects of evaluated approaches show a clear trend toward an increase in well-being and a decrease in anxiety and depression. Low-threshold opportunities that fulfil psychosocial needs beyond medical treatment and focus on confronting end of life should be implemented. The opportunity to confront the end of life and address existential questions should become an area of greater focus within patient-centered care. The variety of approaches of confronting the end of life and their effects need to be investigated, as do the underlying mechanisms of action. In light of the scarcity of actual evidence, the focus should be particularly on individual coping strategies.