ArticlePalliative medicine2022
'There's something about admitting that you are lonely' - prevalence, impact and solutions to loneliness in terminal illness: An explanatory sequential multi-methods study.
Article in Palliative medicine, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
11 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 12 citations in OpenAlex.
- Loneliness among adults at the end of life: A systematic review of prevalence and correlates.Palliative medicine · 2026Pooled it
- The association between social connectedness and euthanasia and assisted suicide and related constructs: systematic review.BMC public health · 2024Pooled it
- Factors impacting loneliness in patients with serious life-limiting illness in the Emergency Medicine Palliative Care Access (EMPallA) study.BMC palliative care · 2025Trial
- Death and grief literacy in the context of loneliness: Insights from an international symposium.Palliative care and social practice · 2026Article
- The Chinese version of the stigma of loneliness scale in people with chronic diseases: an assessment of psychometric characteristics.BMC public health · 2025Article
- Sex and gender in palliative and end-of-life care: A service evaluation and qualitative analysis.Palliative care and social practice · 2025Article
- Do middle-aged and older people underreport loneliness? experimental evidence from the Netherlands.European journal of ageing · 2024Article
- [Loneliness at the end of life].Bundesgesundheitsblatt, Gesundheitsforschung, Gesundheitsschutz · 2024Review
- Loneliness, psychological distress, and the moderating effect of positive aspects of caregiving among cancer caregivers.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2024Article
- The effect of parental regulatory focus on the loneliness stigma of college children.BMC public health · 2024Article
- Reliability and validity evaluation of the stigma of loneliness scale in Chinese college students.BMC public health · 2024Article
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Authors and funding
9 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundLoneliness is a prevalent societal issue and can impact on a person's physical and mental health. It is unclear how loneliness impacts on end of life experiences or how such feelings can be alleviated.
aimTo explore the perceived prevalence, impact and possible solutions to loneliness among people who are terminally ill and their carers in Northern Ireland through the lens of health and social care professionals.
designAn explanatory multi-method study. SETTING/
participantsAn online survey (
resultsLoneliness was perceived by professionals as highly prevalent for people with a terminal illness (92.6%) and their carers (86.8%). Loneliness was considered a taboo subject and impacts on symptoms including pain and breathlessness and overall wellbeing at end of life. Social support was viewed as central towards alleviating feelings of loneliness and promoting connectedness at end of life. Four themes were identified: (1) the stigma of loneliness, (2) COVID-19: The loneliness pandemic (3) impact of loneliness across physical and mental health domains and (4) the power of social networks.
conclusionThere is a need for greater investment for social support initiatives to tackle experiences of loneliness at end of life. These services must be co-produced with people impacted by terminal illness to ensure they meet the needs of this population.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.