Benefits and challenges of recording biographical audiobooks by incurably ill parents to their children: A semi-structured interview study.

Background: There is initial evidence that biographical audio recordings have a positive effect on people with advanced, incurable illnesses, but also that such recordings can represent a major challenge. Little is yet known about the interactions of positive and negative effects, as well as certain groups of patients with incurable illnesses. Objectives: The aim of this study is to identify positive and negative effects of a personal family audiobook recording on incurably ill patients with underage children, suggestions for improving the implementation, and feasibility in parallel with somatic treatment. Design: Qualitative, descriptive study. Methods: Semi-structured interviews, transcribed and analyzed using qualitative content analysis. The main categories were set deductively; the subcategories were developed inductively. Results: Twelve patients with advanced, incurable diseases (66.67% female; age in years Conclusion: There was evidence that the audiobook strengthened coping strategies; the concept of generativity seems particularly important. Nevertheless, the process was described as exhausting and challenging. Therefore, patients should decide whether they want to record a family audiobook and should be in sufficiently good mental and physical condition when they start the recording. Trial registration: German Clinical Trials Register (Deutsches Register Klinischer Studien; DRKS00029252); registration date: June 10, 2022.