What a wish to die can mean: reasons meanings and functions of wishes to die reported from 30 qualitative case studies of terminally ill cancer patients in palliative care

摘要

BackgroundDespite research efforts over recent decades to deepen our understanding of why some terminally ill patients express a wish to die (WTD), there is broad consensus that we need more detailed knowledge about the factors that might influence such a wish. The objective of this study is to explore the different possible motivations and explanations of patients who express or experience a WTD.