I am so tired of existing: Clarifying the complex and multilayered experience of 'tiredness of life' (ToL) from a care ethical and pharmacotherapeutic perspective

A phenomenon that receives increasing interest in society is that of older adults who experience their life as completed and of no value anymore. This phenomenon is labeled ‘tiredness of life’ (ToL) but very little empirical knowledge of what ToL is, seems currently available and no insight is present for nursing home residents (NHRs), a growing population in western societies. Therefore the interdisciplinary project ClarEToL aims to provide a full understanding of ToL as it is experienced by critical actors involved: the NHRs and their (in)formal caretakers, by incorporating different ‘views’ (i.c., historical, care ethical, psychiatric, existential, and pharmacotherapeutic perspective). In-depth knowledge about the unicity of ToL and association with related phenomena such as geriatric depression is needed, in order to support nursing home residents and develop tailored care plans. This PhD project is part of ClareEToL and aims to generate in-depth knowledge about the subjective experiences of ToL from a care ethical and pharmacotherapeutic perspective. Furthermore, the project aims to understand how medication use including antidepressant drugs and medication decisions play a role in the experience of ToL. This research project will consist of a mixed method study in which different data sources will be consulted and in-depth interviews will be conducted from a subset of the NHRs.