| Reference code: | PT/FB/BL-2022-129.01 |
| Location: | BF-GMS
|
Title:
| Final report - Mapping the characteristics and impacts of terminal lucidity in children
|
| Publication year: | 2025
|
Abstract/Results:
| ABSTRACT:
Background
Terminal lucidity (TL) is an unanticipated surge of mental clarity that can occur in the final hours, minutes, or seconds before death. TL has been documented in adult populations, but little is known about TL in children. This was the first known study to systematically examine TL in children.
Aims
Collect cases of TL in children aged 16 years and under from across the globe and examine whether consistent characteristics and antecedents exist across them. An additional aim was to examine the impact of witnessing TL in children on caregivers.
Methods
Seven respondents who had witnessed TL in a child were recruited through purposive sampling and completed a 42-item online survey. Some respondents reported more than one case, resulting in 11 case reports of TL in children.
Results
Differences in mental lucidity were evident before and during TL. Most children had severe mental impairment before TL yet had no or mild mental impairment during TL. Some children lost the ability to interact with their surroundings and people before TL but regained these abilities during TL. Respondents believed medication could not be responsible for the changes. Witnessing TL in children was considered a spiritual experience that influenced caregivers’ belief systems.
Conclusions
Features typical of TL identified in adult samples are also common in children’s cases. TL has important implications for understanding the process of death and for end-of-life care, including for example, whether an escalation or transition of treatment is necessary. Witnessing TL in children may initiate a spiritual transformation in caregivers, thus influencing how they deliver end-of-life care.
|
| Accessibility: | Document exists in file
|
Language:
| eng
|
Author:
| Tassell-Matamua, N. A.
|
Secondary author(s):
| Kothe, K., Woollacott, M. H., Nahm, M., Gunnoe, S., Roehrs, P., Kellehear, A.
|
Document type:
| Final report
|
Number of reproductions:
| 3
|
Reference:
| Tassell-Matamua, N. A., Kothe, K., Woollacott, M. H., Nahm, M., Gunnoe, S., Roehrs, P., & Kellehear, A. (2025). Final report - Mapping the characteristics and impacts of terminal lucidity in children.
|
| Indexed document: | No
|
| Keywords: | Terminal lucidity / Children / End-of-life experiences / Death
|
Final report - Mapping the characteristics and impacts of terminal lucidity in children |