Questioning the value of present life: The lived experience of older people who see no future for themselves

OBJECTIVES: To describe the lived experience of older people who see no future for oneself in the context of aging and the possible development of a wish to die. METHODS: Data were collected from 34 interviews with people of 55-92 years. A phenomenological hermeneutical analysis was performed using crafted stories as an analytical device. RESULTS: Four intertwined constituents together with the essence of the phenomenon provide a layered description of what it means to see no future for oneself. In all constituents: 1) not sharing everyday life, 2) looking for new commitments, 3) facing present losses and future fears and 4) imagining not waking up in the morning, the essence losing zest for life seeped through their daily experiences. CONCLUSIONS: As their horizon of future possibilities is shrinking, older people in our study experience a loss of zest for life and start to questioning the value of their present lives. And although a certain languishing mood can be discovered, the phenomenon 'seeing no future for oneself' does not entail a wish to die

Euthanasia and Physician-Assisted Suicide in Patients with Multiple Geriatric Syndromes

Importance: The Dutch Regional Euthanasia Review Committees (RTEs) reviewed and reported an increasing number of cases of euthanasia and physician-Assisted suicide (EAS) requested by older people with multiple geriatric syndromes (MGS). Knowledge of the characteristics of cases of EAS for MGS is important to facilitate societal debat

Characterizing Adult Sleep Behavior Over 20 Years-The Population-Based Doetinchem Cohort Study.

To describe sleep duration patterns of adults over a 20-year period; to compare sociodemographic, lifestyle, and health characteristics across these patterns; and to relate the patterns to sleep quality

Prevalence and characteristics of older adults with a persistent death wish without severe illness: a large cross-sectional survey

BACKGROUND: Some older persons develop a persistent death wish without being severely ill, often referred to as "completed life" or "tiredness of life". In the Netherlands and Belgium, the question whether these persons should have legal options for euthanasia or physician-assisted suicide (EAS) is intensely debated. Our main aim was to investigate the prevalence and characteristics of older adults with a persistent death wish without severe illness, as the lack of this knowledge is a crucial problem in de debate. METHODS: We conducted a survey among a representative sample of 32,477 Dutch citizens aged 55+, comprising questions about health, existential issues and the nature of the death wish. Descriptive statistics were used to describe the group with a persistent death wish and no severe illness (PDW-NSI) and several subgroups. RESULTS: A total of 21,294 respondents completed the questionnaire (response rate 65.6%). We identified 267 respondents (1.25%) as having a persistent death wish and no severe illness (PDW-NSI). PDW-NSI did not only occur among the oldest old. Although qualifying themselves as "not severely ill", those with PDW-NSI reported considerable health problems. A substantial minority of the PDW-NSI-group reported having had a death wish their whole lives. Within the group PDW-NSI 155 (0.73%) respondents had an active death wish, of which 36 (0.17% of the total response) reported a wish to actually end their lives. Thus, a death wish did not always equal a wish to actually end one's life. Moreover, the death wishes were often ambiguous. For example, almost half of the PDW-NSI-group (49.1%) indicated finding life worthwhile at this moment. CONCLUSIONS: The identified characteristics challenge the dominant "completed life" or "tiredness of life" image of healthy persons over the age of 75 who, overseeing their lives, reasonably decide they would prefer to die. The results also show that death wishes without severe illness are often ambiguous and do not necessarily signify a wish to end one's life. It is of great importance to acknowledge these nuances and variety in the debate and in clinical practice, to be able to adequately recognize the persons involved and tailor to their needs