Desire For Hastened Death Research Articles

The association between social connectedness and euthanasia and assisted suicide and related constructs: systematic review

BackgroundEuthanasia and assisted suicide (EAS) requests are common in countries where they are legal. Loneliness and social isolation are modifiable risk factors for mental illness and suicidal behaviour and are common in terminal illness. Our objective was to summarise available literature to clarify whether these and related measures of social connectedness might contribute to requests for EAS.MethodsWe conducted a pre-registered (PROSPERO CRD42019160508) systematic review and narrative synthesis of quantitative literature investigating associations between social connectedness and a) requested/actual EAS, b) attitudes towards EAS, and c) a desire for hastened death (DHD) by searching six databases (PsycINFO, MEDLINE, EMBASE, Scopus, Web of Science, Google Scholar) from inception to November 2022, rating eligible peer-reviewed, empirical studies using the QATSO quality assessment tool.ResultsWe identified 37 eligible studies that investigated associations with a) requested/actual EAS (n = 9), b) attitudes to EAS (n = 16), and c) DHD (n = 14), with limited overlap, including 17,359 participants. The majority (62%) were rated at medium/high risk of bias. Focussing our narrative synthesis on the more methodologically sound studies, we found no evidence to support an association between different constructs of social connectedness and requested or actual EAS, and very little evidence to support an association with attitudes to EAS or an association with DHD.ConclusionsOur findings for all age groups are consistent with a those of a previous systematic review focussed on older adults and suggest that poor social connectedness is not a clear risk factor for EAS or for measures more distally related to EAS. However, we acknowledge low study quality in some studies in relation to sampling, unvalidated exposure/outcome measures, cross-sectional design, unadjusted analyses, and multiple testing. Clinical assessment should focus on modifying established risk factors for suicide and EAS, such as hopelessness and depression, as well as improving any distressing aspects of social disconnectedness to improve quality of life.FundingUKRI, NIHR.

“I want to live, but …” the desire to live and its physical, psychological, spiritual, and social factors among advanced cancer patients: evidence from the APPROACH study in India

BackgroundThe limited access to palliative care resources along with the social stigma around cancer largely explains the poor quality of life (QoL) of Indian advanced cancer patients. As advanced cancer patients with poor QoL often harbour a desire for hastened death (DHD), it is imperative to understand factors affecting DHD, or the desire to live (DTL) among advanced cancer patients in India. We aim to examine the relationship between DTL and physical, psychological, spiritual, and social factors measuring patients’ QoL alongside their awareness of their late cancer stage.MethodsWe surveyed 200 patients from a tertiary cancer hospital in India to collect their DTL, awareness of cancer stage, demographic characteristics, and standardized measures for patients’ QoL. We used a linear probability regression model to quantify the association between these factors and patients’ DTL among the final sample of 192 patients with no missing information for the variables of interest.ResultsAmong the various domains affecting cancer patients’ QoL, we found that the pain severity score (ranging from 0 to 10) and psychological distress score (ranging from 0 to 42) are negatively associated with the DTL. One point increase in each score reduced the DTL by 2.2% (p < 0.05) and 0.7% (p < 0.05), respectively. Our results also showed that patients whose perceived socio-economic status (SES) is poor have a 16% (p < 0.05) lower probability of DTL, compared to those with higher SES (lower middle class, upper middle class, and wealthy). Controlling for caste, religion, gender, age, marital status and years of education, we found psychological distress is statistically higher among patients belonging to this bottom SES.ConclusionsWe found that pain severity, psychological distress and perceived low SES are negatively associated with the desire to live in advanced cancer patients. Future research should focus on developing interventions to improve physical pain and psychological distress, particularly for patients who are socially and economically disadvantaged.

Effects of Psilocybin on Suicidal Ideation in Patients With Life-Threatening Cancer

A cancer diagnosis is a known risk factor for suicidal ideation (SI). Our study sought to evaluate longitudinal changes in SI and a more subtle manifestation, desire for hastened death (DHD), after psilocybin intervention in patients with cancer.

Acute and Sustained Reductions in Loss of Meaning and Suicidal Ideation Following Psilocybin-Assisted Psychotherapy for Psychiatric and Existential Distress in Life-Threatening Cancer.

People with advanced cancer are at heightened risk of desire for hastened death (DHD), suicidal ideation (SI), and completed suicide. Loss of Meaning (LoM), a component of demoralization, can be elevated by a cancer diagnosis and predicts DHD and SI in this population. We completed a randomized controlled trial in which psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy (PAP) produced rapid and sustained improvements in depression, demoralization, and hopelessness in people with cancer. Converging epidemiologic and clinical trial findings suggests a potential antisuicidal effect of this treatment. To probe our hypothesis that PAP relieves SI through its beneficial impacts on depression and demoralization (LoM in particular), we performed secondary analyses assessing within- and between-group differences with regard to LoM and an SI composite score. Among participants with elevated SI at baseline, PAP was associated with within-group reductions in SI that were apparent as early as 8 h and persisted for 6.5 months postdosing. PAP also produced large reductions in LoM from baseline that were apparent 2 weeks after treatment and remained significant and robust at the 6.5 month and 3.2 and 4.5 year follow-ups. Exploratory analyses support our hypothesis and suggest that PAP may be an effective antisuicidal intervention following a cancer diagnosis due to its positive impact on hopelessness and demoralization and its effects on meaning-making in particular. These preliminary results implicate psilocybin treatment as a potentially effective alternative to existing antidepressant medications in patients with cancer that are also suicidal, and warrant further investigation in participants with elevated levels of depression and suicidality.

Complexity of desire for hastened death in terminally ill cancer patients: A cluster analysis.

The present study aims were (1) to identify the proportion of terminally ill cancer patients with desire for hastened death (DHD) receiving specialized palliative care, (2) to identify the reasons for DHD, and (3) to classify patients with DHD into some interpretable subgroups. Advanced cancer patients admitted to 23 inpatients hospices/palliative care units in 2017 were enrolled. Data were prospectively obtained by the primarily responsible physicians. The presence/absence of DHD and reasons for DHD were recorded. A cluster analysis was performed to identify patterns of subgroups in patients with DHD. Data from 971 patients, whose Richmond Agitation-Sedation Scale score at admission was zero and who died in palliative care units, were analyzed. The average age was 72 years, common primary cancer sites were the gastrointestinal tract (31%) and the liver/biliary ducts/pancreas (19%). A total of 174 patients (18%: 95% confidence interval, 16-20) expressed DHD. Common reasons for DHD were dependency (45%), burden to others (28%), meaninglessness (24%), and inability to engage in pleasant activities (24%). We identified five clusters of patients with DHD: cluster 1 (35%, 61/173): "physical distress," cluster 2 (21%, 37/173): "dependent and burdensome," cluster 3 (19%, 33/173): "hopelessness," cluster 4 (17%, 30/173): "profound fatigue," and cluster 5 (7%, 12/173): "extensive existential suffering." A considerable number of patients expressed DHD and could be categorized into five subgroups. These findings may contribute to the development of therapeutic strategies.

Using item response theory (IRT) to reduce patient burden when assessing desire for hastened death.

Desire for hastened death (DHD) represents a wish to die sooner than might occur by natural disease progression. Efficient and accurate assessment of DHD is vital for clinicians providing care to terminally ill patients. The Schedule of Attitudes Toward Hastened Death (SAHD) is a commonly used self-report measure of DHD. The goal of this study was to use methods grounded in item response theory (IRT) to analyze the psychometric properties of the SAHD and identify an abbreviated version of the scale. Data were drawn from 4 studies of psychological distress at the end of life. Participants were 1,076 patients diagnosed with either advanced cancer or AIDS. The sample was divided into 2 subsamples for scale analysis and development of the shortened form. IRT was used to estimate item parameters. A 6-item version of the SAHD (SAHD-A) was identified through examination of item parameter estimations. The SAHD-A demonstrated adequate convergent validity. Receiver operating characteristic analyses indicated comparable cut scores to identify patients with high levels of DHD. These analyses support the utility of the SAHD-A, which can be more easily integrated into research studies and clinical assessments of DHD. (PsycINFO Database Record

Refinement and Revalidation of the Demoralization Scale: The DS-II

Refinement and Revalidation of the Demoralization Scale: The DS-II

Spiritual Well-being May Reduce the Negative Impacts of Cancer Symptoms on the Quality of Life and the Desire for Hastened Death in Terminally Ill Cancer Patients.

Spirituality is a central component of the well-being of terminally ill cancer patients. The aim of this study was to examine the mediating or moderating role of spiritual well-being in reducing the impact of cancer-related symptoms on quality of life and the desire for hastened death in terminally ill cancer patients. Eighty-five terminally ill cancer patients were assessed using the Taiwanese version of the M. D. Anderson Symptom Inventory, the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-General, the Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Spiritual Well-being, the Beck Hopelessness Scale, and the Schedule of Attitudes Toward Hastened Death. Spiritual well-being was significantly negatively correlated with symptom severity (r = -0.46, P < .01). Symptom severity negatively correlated with quality of life (r = -0.54) and positively correlated with hopelessness (r = 0.51, P < .01) and the desire for hastened death (r = 0.61, P < .01). Spiritual well-being was a partial mediator and moderator between symptom severity and quality of life. Spiritual well-being was a partial mediator between symptom severity and the desire for hastened death. The meaning subscale of spiritual well-being was a more significant predictor of the desire for hastened death and quality of life than the faith subscale was. Spiritual well-being may reduce the negative impacts of cancer on quality of life and the desire for hastened death. Appropriate spiritual care may reduce the negative impact of severe cancer symptoms on quality of life and the desire for hastened death in terminally ill cancer patients.

Desire for hastened death: exploring the emotions and the ethics.

As we approach the end of our lives, many of us will have a desire for hastened death (DHD). Fortunately, our ability to respond to suffering at the end of life is improving. At the same time, in many jurisdictions, changes are underway to legislate physician-assisted death. This compels us as clinicians to explore DHD in a compassionate way - to reduce suffering and reduce premature death. This challenge is becoming more compelling as a large cohort of individuals, who value autonomy and control, age and experience illness. Studies confirm that DHD is not always a request to die. Clarifying the intention behind the desire and exploring the individual factors and underlying reasons behind the wish have been described. Another theme questions our basic assumptions about these statements - a normal part of a human experience or an indicator of disease. This tension is also manifested in the appropriate balance between patient autonomy and preventing harm. We have a professional responsibility to mindfully explore with the patient the suffering that can be relieved and the suffering that remains.

Validation of the German version of the Schedule of Attitudes Toward Hastened Death (SAHD-D) with patients in palliative care.

Reliable and validated instruments are needed in order to study the desire for hastened death (DHD). As there is no instrument in the German language to measure DHD, our aim was to validate a German version of the Schedule of Attitudes Toward Hastened Death (SAHD-D). The SAHD was translated following guidelines promulgated by the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC). In eligible patients (clinical situation adequate, MMSE ≥21), the following instruments were employed: a symptom checklist (HOPE), the HADS-D (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale), the EORTC-QLQ-PAL15, and the SAHD-D, as well as an external estimation of DHD provided by the attending physician. A high level of DHD was defined as the mean plus one standard deviation (SD). Of the 869 patients assessed, 92 were eligible for inclusion (66% females, mean age of 64.5 years). The SAHD-D total score ranged from 0 to 18, with a mean of 5 and a standard deviation (SD) of 3.7. A high level of DHD was found in 20% (n = 19). For discriminant validity, significant correlations were found between the SAHD-D and depression (r rho = 0.472), anxiety (r rho = 0.224), and clinical state (r rho = 0.178). For criterion validity, the external estimate of DHD showed a low significant correlation with patient score (r rho = 0.290). Factor analysis of the SAHD-D identified two factors. Validation of the SAHD-D illustrated good discriminant validity, confirming that a desire to hasten death is a construct separate from depression, anxiety, or physical state. The unidimensionality of the SAHD could not be reproduced. Our findings support the multifactorial interdependencies on DHD and suggest that the SAHD-D should be refined by considering actual wishes, general attitudes, and options of patients.

Desire for Hastened Death Amongst Veterans Facing Terminal Illness (SA520)

1.Define the desire for hastened death, in contrast to suicidal ideation or post-traumatic-stress syndrome (PTSD).2.Recognize this symptom in select veterans (or other patients) in order to provide support and interdisciplinary management.3.Recognize and understand this complex syndrome and apply interdisciplinary techniques to manage this symptom. Some patients with advanced illness express a desire for hastened death (DHD), which typically involves mental health interventions. However, these patients may benefit from a palliative care team approach in management to mitigate suffering and improve outcomes.•DHD is a wish for death to occur prior to natural death. It is expressed in the context of progressive disease as a response to symptoms of physical and psychological suffering. Typically, it does not involve active suicidal ideation or requests for assisted suicide.•Depression in palliative care patients is not uncommon when faced with advanced or terminal illness. However, select patients present with obtrusive thoughts and a desire for hastened death, which may be mistaken for active suicidal ideation. Because this is a relatively less studied presentation, there exist few published approaches to management of these seriously ill patients.•DHD may be distinguished from suicidal ideation as it understandably occurs in the context of progressive disease rather than underlying psychiatric illness. Palliative care team interventions are effective to relieve symptoms of DHD in contrast to suicidal ideation, which is managed by psychiatric and psychological interventions. Barriers to assess and respond to DHD with both provider and patient factors will be discussed. Possible risk factors will be explored in the setting of DHD. In a small study in the palliative care clinic setting, 21 veterans who presented for routine palliative care consultations because of the nature of their illness were found to have DHD. We will discuss the assessments, findings, and clinical interventions provided, as well as the enhanced clinical outcomes in these veterans, as well as recommendations for other palliative care teams. Limitations of this study include the small sample size, but it provides valuable insight and understanding of DHD that may lead to improved clinical outcomes and potential future research.

Prevalence, course and associations of desire for hastened death in a UK palliative population: a cross-sectional study

ObjectivesTo determine the prevalence, severity and remission of desire for hastened death (DHD) in a UK representative sample of patients with advanced disease receiving palliative care and to examine the...

Assessment Of Depression When Patients Desire A Hastened Death

Patients’ mental health status is an important element of palliative and end-of-life care. However, depression is often under-recognised in terminally ill cancer patients. That is because symptoms of depression can mimic those of advanced cancer and clinicians often think that patients’ low mood is an understandable reaction to terminal illness. Depression has been associated with patients desiring a hastened death or requesting assisted suicide. Nurses are often the health professional with whom patients discuss thoughts about dying. However, nurses do not always know how best to respond to patients when they say that they want to die. When faced with desire for hastened death (DHD), it is essential that nurses assess patients for symptoms that may be indicative of depression. This article will provide an overview of the main signs and symptoms of depression. It will discuss DHD among terminally ill cancer patients and whether DHD is a clinical indicator of depression. It will then examine how nurses (working in hospitals, care homes and the community) could respond to expressions of DHD. Conflicts of interest: none

Psychosocial distress in patients treated for cancer pain: A prospective observational study

Untreated emotional distress negatively impacts the management of cancer pain. The authors evaluated 64 patients with cancer pain who completed baseline and follow-up measures to identify if (1) measures of psychosocial wellbeing, pain intensity, and pain management were associated with survival time; (2) higher opioid doses were associated with less psychosocial distress; and (3) intrasubject correlations across time altered the relationship between pain, depression, social support, spirituality, and increased desire for hastened death (DHD). The main outcome measures included the Brief Pain Inventory (BPI), Daily Morphine Equivalent Dose (DMED), Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II), DHD scale, Bottomley Social Support Scale, FACIT Spiritual Well-Being Scale (FACIT-Sp), Karnofsky Performance Rating Scale (KPRS), and State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI). There were significant differences between baseline and follow-up DHD (0.84 vs. 1.38, p = 0.021) and BPI scores (6.36 vs. 4.86, p < 0.001). Lower existential wellbeing was associated with reduced survival (HR = 0.78, p = 0.019); improvement in pain was associated with longer survival (HR = 1.33, p = 0.034). Higher religious wellbeing was associated with higher probability of survival to 1 year (HR = 0.41, p = 0.014), as was higher KPRS (HR = 0.97, p = 0.001) but not DMED >300 mg. Higher existential distress and lower Bottomley scores were associated with higher hazard ratios for death at 1 year (HR = 2.78, p = 0.02) and (HR = 14.94, p = 0.002). There were significant diferences in average BDI-J for persons with BPI > 7 versus those with moderate or mild pain (12.12 vs. 6.82, p < 0.0001) and in DHD (1.71 vs. 0.64, p = 0.002). Depression decreased in persons with DMED >300 mg between baseline and follow-up (-1.67 vs. 2.72, p = 0.024). Mean DHD was lower forpersons whose pain improved versus others (0.96 vs. 2.0, p = 0.026). A generalized linear model was conducted with DHD as the dependent variable and the other above variables as predictors. Higher existential wellbeing and KPRS were associated with lower DHD (beta = -0.135, p = 0.049) and (P = -0.79, p = 0.006), respectively. The major findings of this study are that in persons with cancer pain, lower social support and existential wellbeing, but not higher DMED, were associated with shorter survival time. Treatment of cancer pain was associated with lessening of emotional distress. Lower levels of existential wellbeing and physical performance status appear to be associated with greater DHD.

Issues of “life” and “death” for patients receiving palliative care—comments when confronted with a research tool

To be able to study the desire for hastened death (DhD) in patients receiving palliative care, research tools reflecting the thoughts of patients are needed. In order to better understand what issues of "life" and "death" mean to patients receiving palliative care in Germany, we analysed their spontaneous comments during a validation study of the German version of the Schedule of Attitudes Towards Hastened Death. Field notes and transcripts of 39 interviews were analysed by thematic analysis. Field notes from 32 patients were related to differentiating either an acute or a non-acute DhD. Furthermore, the patients' comments were categorized and the distribution of codes analysed, leading to three types of comments: (a) longing for life excluding a hastened death, (b) wanting to live on, but perceiving death as an option, and (c) longing for death, but struggling for life. The existing construct of an increased DhD may benefit from a further differentiation between "non-acute" and "acute." In addition, it could be helpful to conceptualize "will to live" and "desire for death" not as polarities from one dimension (two sides of the same coin), but to think them as two independent dimensions.

Impact of Treatment for Depression on Desire for Hastened Death in Patients With Advanced AIDS

Despite the development of multi-drug regimens for HIV, palliative care and quality-of-life issues in patients with advanced AIDS remain important areas of clinical investigation. Authors assessed the impact of treatment for depression on desire for hastened death in patients with advanced AIDS. Patients with advanced AIDS (N=372) were interviewed shortly after admission to a palliative-care facility, and were reinterviewed monthly for the next 2 months. Patients diagnosed with a major depressive syndrome were provided with antidepressant treatment and reinterviewed weekly. Desire for hastened death was assessed with two questionnaire measures. Desire for death was highly associated with depression, and it decreased dramatically in patients who responded to antidepressant treatment. Little change in desire for hastened death was observed in patients whose depression did not improve. Although improved depression was not significantly associated with the use of antidepressant medication, those individuals prescribed antidepressant medication showed the largest decreases in desire for hastened death. Successful treatment for depression appears to substantially decrease desire for hastened death in patients with advanced AIDS. The authors discuss implications of these findings for palliative-care treatment and the physician-assisted suicide debate.

Impact of Treatment for Depression on Desire for Hastened Death in Patients With Advanced AIDS

Despite the development of multi-drug regimens for HIV, palliative care and quality-of-life issues in patients with advanced AIDS remain important areas of clinical investigation. Authors assessed the impact of treatment for depression on desire for hastened death in patients with advanced AIDS. Patients with advanced AIDS (N = 372) were interviewed shortly after admission to a palliative-care facility, and were reinterviewed monthly for the next 2 months. Patients diagnosed with a major depressive syndrome were provided with antidepressant treatment and reinterviewed weekly. Desire for hastened death was assessed with two questionnaire measures. Desire for death was highly associated with depression, and it decreased dramatically in patients who responded to antidepressant treatment. Little change in desire for hastened death was observed in patients whose depression did not improve. Although improved depression was not significantly associated with the use of antidepressant medication, those individuals prescribed antidepressant medication showed the largest decreases in desire for hastened death. Successful treatment for depression appears to substantially decrease desire for hastened death in patients with advanced AIDS. The authors discuss implications of these findings for palliative-care treatment and the physician-assisted suicide debate.

The desire for hastened death in individuals with advanced cancer: A longitudinal qualitative study

Research is needed on the desire for hastened death (DHD) in the context of advanced cancer in order to address the clinical, ethical, and legal questions that it raises. The goal of the present qualitative study was to understand the experience of the DHD as expressed by individuals with advanced cancer, and to understand how it evolves over time. Participants were 27 ambulatory patients aged 45-82 years with advanced lung or gastrointestinal cancer. Participants were recruited through theoretical sampling from outpatient clinics at a large cancer center in Toronto Canada, and were asked about the DHD in serial, open-ended interviews until the point of death. A total of 54 interviews were analyzed based on the grounded theory method. The experience of the DHD in the context of advanced cancer was found to be subsumed under three distinct categories: i) DHD as a hypothetical exit plan; ii) DHD as an expression of despair; and iii) DHD as a manifestation of letting go. Each category had unique temporal and qualitative characteristics. The identification of these categories may be important to inform future research on the DHD, the criteria for clinical intervention in individuals who express this desire, and the public debate about physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia for individuals with advanced disease.

The Desire for Hastened Death in Patients with Metastatic Cancer

A substantial minority of patients in palliative care settings report a high desire for hastened death (DHD), in association with physical and emotional distress, low social support, and impaired spiritual well being. To clarify to what extent DHD emerges in association with suffering prior to the end of life, we determined its prevalence and correlates in ambulatory patients with metastatic cancer, the majority of whom had an expected survival of >6 months. We hypothesized that DHD in this sample would be directly linked to physical and psychological distress, and inversely related to perceived social support, self-esteem, and spiritual well being. Three hundred twenty-six outpatients completed the Schedule of Attitudes Toward Hastened Death (SAHD), Brief Pain Inventory, Memorial Symptom Assessment Scale, Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II), Beck Hopelessness Scale (BHS), Medical Outcomes Study Social Support Survey, FACIT-Spiritual Well-Being Scale, Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, and Karnofsky Performance Status. Over 50% of participants reported pain, >20% reported elevated levels of depression (BDI-II ≥ 15) and hopelessness (BHS ≥ 8), but <2% had a high DHD (SAHD ≥ 10). DHD was correlated positively with hopelessness, depression, and physical distress, and negatively with physical functioning, spiritual well being, social support, and self-esteem; it was not associated with treatment status or proximity to death. Over 34% of the variance in predicting SAHD scores was accounted for by hopelessness, depression, and functional status. The relative absence of a strong DHD in this sample suggests that the will to live tends to be preserved in cancer patients prior to the end of life, in spite of significant emotional and physical suffering.

Interpersonal factors predict increased desire for hastened death in late-stage cancer patients

Cancer patients at the end of life sometimes express a wish that death would come quickly, but this desire for hastened death (DHD) remains little understood. Relationships with spousal caregivers may play a role in patients' DHD. This study examined factors that could predict an increase in the DHD in late-stage cancer patients over the course of 4 months, including marital and caregiving variables that have not previously been examined. Patients completed the Schedule of Attitudes Toward Hastened Death and other measures, including the Dyadic Adjustment Scale. Caregivers were asked how many hours they spent weekly in caregiving activities and completed the Caregiver Demands Scale. Approximately 4 months later, DHD was reassessed in surviving patients. Sixty caregiver/patient dyads completed all measures. Desire for hastened death was generally low at both assessments; however, more depression and greater dyadic adjustment reported by patients, and more hours spent in caregiving activities by spouses, each independently predicted increased DHD in patients at the Time 2 assessment. Findings suggest that issues related to spousal caregivers play an important role in the course of DHD in cancer patients at the end of life.