Dealing With Temporality in Patients With Life-Limiting Disease: An International Qualitative Study

Area of Science:

• Palliative Care
• Psychology
• Sociology

Background:

• The prospect of death significantly impacts individuals' perception of remaining time.
• Understanding temporal orientation in progressive, life-limiting diseases is crucial for patient care.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the temporal orientation (past, present, future) of end-of-life patients.
• To explore how patients manage their thoughts and time across different temporal dimensions.

Main Methods:

• Conducted 57 in-depth interviews with end-of-life patients across 10 countries.
• Employed thematic analysis at multiple levels (local, subgroup, international) using a developed codebook.

Main Results:

• Patients' thoughts encompassed past, present, future, and the future after death.
• Identified themes such as remorse, nostalgia, gratitude, farewells, hope, worries, and preparations for after death.
• Common themes across all countries included living for the day, future worries, and concerns for loved ones.

Conclusions:

• End-of-life patients exhibit complex temporal orientations, extending beyond their own lifespan.
• Temporal management strategies vary, involving active and passive engagement with thoughts about different timeframes.
• Cross-cultural commonalities in temporal concerns highlight universal aspects of end-of-life experiences.