ArticleBMC palliative care2023
The responsibility to quench thirst by providing drinks when a relative is dying spouses' experience in specialist palliative home care.
Article in BMC palliative care, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.
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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.
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Who cites it
3 citing papers in PubMed, 3 citations in OpenAlex.
- Are patients receiving specialist palliative care thirsty? A qualitative interview study.BMC palliative care · 2026Article
- Nurses' experiences of ethical challenges concerning thirst in dying patients in specialist palliative care: a qualitative study.BMC palliative care · 2024Article
- Nurses' perception of thirst in patients within palliative home care: a qualitative study.BMC nursing · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundThirst and dry mouth are common symptoms in terminally ill patients. It is known that family members usually request drips for their dying relative. Few studies have focused on thirst in terminally ill patients and their spouses' experience of this, leading to a knowledge gap in this area.
aimThe aim of this study was to explore spouses' experiences of observing and managing thirst in a dying relative admitted to specialist palliative home care.
methodsA qualitative interview study with an inductive approach was conducted. Eighteen spouses caring for their husband or wife admitted to specialist palliative home care in different hospitals in Sweden were interviewed. The interviews were transcribed verbatim and analysed with a reflexive thematic analysis.
resultsThree main themes emerged regarding spouses' experiences of patients' thirst: Knowledge and views of thirst; Control of fluid intake provides vital information; and Taking charge of their drinking is a life and death responsibility.
conclusionsSpouses experience a responsibility to serve the dying person with fluids so that they will not get thirsty. It is so obvious and commonplace to them. To be able to fulfil this responsibility, they need to keep track of the patient's fluid intake and know what quenches thirst. There is a need for research in this area to assist carers and patients in identifying which drinks best quench the patient's thirst. Interventions are also needed to help provide/make available knowledge on suitable thirst-quenching drinks.
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Registered trials
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