The nature of suffering and its relief in the terminally ill: a qualitative study

• Published in: Journal of palliative care Vol. 20; no. 1; pp. 7 - 11
• Main Authors: Daneault, Serge, Lussier, Véronique, Mongeau, Suzanne, Paillé, Pierre, Hudon, Eveline, Dion, Dominique, Yelle, Louise
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States SAGE PUBLICATIONS, INC 01.03.2004
• Subjects: Adaptation, Psychological; Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Attitude to Death; Attitude to Health; Bioethics; Content analysis; Fear; Female; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Neoplasms - complications; Qualitative Research; Quality of Life; Stress, Psychological - etiology; Stress, Psychological - prevention & control; Stress, Psychological - psychology; Surveys and Questionnaires; Terminal Care - methods; Terminal Care - psychology; Terminally Ill - psychology; Violence - psychology; Empirical Approach; Death and Euthanasia
• ISSN: 0825-8597; 2369-5293
• DOI: 10.1177/082585970402000103

The essential mandate of medicine is the relief of suffering. However, the quest for an integrated model towards a conceptualization of suffering is still ongoing and empirical studies are few. Qualitative inquiry using 31 in-depth interviews and content analysis was carried out between 1999 and 2001 in 26 patients diagnosed with terminal cancer. The suffering experience was described through a multiplicity of heterogenous elements from the physical, psychological, and social spheres. Systematic synthesis of interview material yielded three apparently irreducible core dimensions. Respondents defined their suffering in terms of 1) being subjected to violence, 2) being deprived and/or overwhelmed, and 3) living in apprehension. Cassell wrote, in 1991, that to know the suffering of others demands an exhaustive understanding of what makes them the individuals they are (1). Our model can be of use in structuring and eliciting this necessary information. Understanding how a particular patient feels harmed, deprived or overburdened, and overtaken by fear, provides a lever for action tailored to the specifics of that person's experience.