Can a conversation preserve dignity at Life's end?
NCT ID NCT07150728
First seen Jun 26, 2026 · Last updated Jun 26, 2026
Summary
This study tested whether 'dignity therapy' — a guided conversation that creates a lasting document for loved ones — helps terminally ill patients maintain dignity and reduce feelings of depression and hopelessness. Researchers in Taiwan enrolled 45 adults with terminal illnesses, randomly assigning them to receive either dignity therapy or standard hospice care. They measured changes in dignity, demoralization, and depression over several months.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- dignity therapy (a guided conversation and legacy document)
- What this could lead to
- If it works, this could offer a simple, non-drug way to help terminally ill patients feel more dignified and less depressed.
- What could go wrong
- This is a small, completed study with only 45 participants, so results may not apply to everyone. The therapy is supportive, not a cure.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
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45 people
The number who actually took part.
- Started
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Sep 2023
- Finished
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Aug 2025
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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20 years and older
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: 1. Patients diagnosed with a terminal illness by their attending physician, whose disease has progressed to the point where death is inevitable, and who are receiving palliative care such as hospice care, hospice home care, or hospice co-care. 2. Patients aged 20 or above. 3. Patients who can communicate in Mandarin or Taiwanese. 4. Patients who are willing to participate in this research project and complete the consent form after the purpose and process of the research are explained. Exclusion Criteria: 1. Those diagnosed by a physician with dementia, delirium, or other organic brain disease. 2. Those who are unconscious and incapable of acting.
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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Kaohsiung Medical University
Kaohsiung City, Taiwan
More trials for these conditions
Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.