Dealing with existential suffering and palliative sedation in specialized palliative care units in Baden-Württemberg

Dealing with existential suffering and palliative sedation in specialized palliative care units in Baden-Württemberg - Ex-Sed

Status

Active, not recruiting

Phases

Unknown

Study type

Observational

Source

DRKS

Registry ID

DRKS00039923

Enrollment

Registered

2026-07-10

Start date

2026-07-10

Completion date

Unknown

Last updated

2026-08-03

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Z51.5

Interventions

Group 1: Non-interventional study involving a single 60- to 90-minute interview using a semi-structured interview guide: From the perspective of palliative care teams, the qualitative interview study

how the implementation of palliative sedation for this form of suffering is actually carried out, experienced, and evaluated

and how the practice guideline “Use of Sedative Medications in Specialized Palliative Care” is applied and evaluated in cases of existential suffering.

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

All

Age

18 Years to 75 Years

Inclusion criteria

Inclusion criteria: This call for potential participants is directed at all members of inpatient palliative care teams (specialized inpatient settings) in Baden-Württemberg from the nursing, medical, psychosocial, medical-therapeutic, and spiritual professions who have experience with existential suffering and palliative sedation.

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion criteria: Members of these teams are excluded if they have no experience with existential suffering and/or palliative sedation.

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame
The primary objectives are defined as follows: The exploration of a) the assessment and treatment of existential suffering in palliative care units in Baden-Württemberg b) the implementation of palliative sedation for existential suffering, as well as c) the evaluation of the recommendation “Use of Sedative Medications in Specialized Palliative Care” with regard to palliative sedation for existential suffering	—

Measure

Time frame

The primary objectives are defined as follows: The exploration of a) the assessment and treatment of existential suffering in palliative care units in Baden-Württemberg b) the implementation of palliative sedation for existential suffering, as well as c) the evaluation of the recommendation “Use of Sedative Medications in Specialized Palliative Care” with regard to palliative sedation for existential suffering

—

Secondary

Measure	Time frame
A potential comparison with the results of the 2016 study titled “Indications and Practice of Palliative Sedation as a Last Resort for Psycho-Existential Suffering in Inpatient Palliative Care in Baden-Württemberg” (DRKS00009639) is being pursued as a secondary outcome measure.	—

Countries

Germany

Contacts

Public ContactGerhild Becker

Universitätsklinikum Freiburg, Klinik für Palliativmedizin

gerhild.becker@uniklinik-freiburg.de+49 761 270-95412

Outcome results

None listed

Source: DRKS (via WHO ICTRP) · Data processed: Aug 10, 2026