Happiness at the end of life: A qualitative study
- 15 March 2021
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Cambridge University Press (CUP) in Palliative & Supportive Care
- Vol. 20 (1), 69-75
- https://doi.org/10.1017/s1478951521000262
Abstract
Objective Dying is mostly seen as a dreadful event, never a happy experience. Yet, as palliative care physicians, we have seen so many patients who remained happy despite facing death. Hence, we conducted this qualitative study to explore happiness in palliative care patients at the University of Malaya Medical Centre. Method Twenty terminally ill patients were interviewed with semi-structured questions. The results were thematically analyzed. Results Eight themes were generated: the meaning of happiness, connections, mindset, pleasure, health, faith, wealth, and work. Our results showed that happiness is possible at the end of life. Happiness can coexist with pain and suffering. Social connections were the most important element of happiness at the end of life. Wealth and work were given the least emphasis. From the descriptions of our patients, we recognized a tendency for the degree of importance to shift from the hedonic happiness to eudaimonic happiness as patients experienced a terminal illness. Significance of results To increase the happiness of palliative care patients, it is crucial to assess the meaning of happiness for each patient and the degree of importance for each happiness domain to allow targeted interventions.Keywords
This publication has 21 references indexed in Scilit:
- The broad spectrum of unbearable suffering in end-of-life cancer studied in dutch primary careBMC Palliative Care, 2012
- The happiness effectBulletin of the World Health Organization, 2011
- The happiness–income paradox revisitedProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2010
- Two Decades of Terror Management Theory: A Meta-Analysis of Mortality Salience ResearchPersonality and Social Psychology Review, 2010
- Using thematic analysis in psychologyQualitative Research in Psychology, 2006
- HappinessBMJ, 2005
- Hedonism and HappinessJournal of Happiness Studies, 2003
- Bad is Stronger than GoodReview of General Psychology, 2001
- The "What" and "Why" of Goal Pursuits: Human Needs and the Self-Determination of BehaviorPsychological Inquiry, 2000
- On Death and Dying: What the Dying Have to Teach Doctors, Nurses, Clergy and Their Own FamiliesJournal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 1972