You鈥檙e likely familiar with the concept of a bucket list: a list of things you want to do before you die, or 鈥渒ick the bucket.鈥� It鈥檚 a reminder to make every day count, and make your dreams come true.
When it comes to those final days, though, it turns out that dreams can make dying a little less of a downer.
According to a , making and fulfilling a bucket list as part of end-of-life care can help reduce anxiety and depression, provide hope to struggling patients and give families a chance to bond one last time.
Texas Standard sat down with Swasati Handique, a doctoral candidate at UT Arlington and co-author of the study, to discuss how something as simple as a wishlist could help people pass with dignity and closure. Listen to the interview above or read the transcript below.
This transcript has been edited lightly for clarity:
Texas Standard: Most folks have heard of bucket lists, but you didn鈥檛 actually find a lot of research on them. Why do you think that is?
Swasati Handique: We screened over 2,000 articles published from 2000 to 2024, and we only got 11 articles that actually talked about bucket lists and wish fulfillment for people who are in hospice and palliative care.
I think the reason we didn鈥檛 find any, and this is an assumption, or probably an initial finding that we have, is because people don鈥檛 really consider them as important as maybe symptom management, or treatment during end-of-life care. A bucket list is probably something that is kind of a luxury to some extent for people, and it鈥檚 not exactly a priority for people to have right away.
So maybe that鈥檚 why we didn鈥檛 find enough research on it. But with the research that we got, we found that bucket lists have such an impact on people and their health outcomes, and also the caregivers of the individuals, too.
So when you reviewed the studies that are out there, you actually found four consistent benefits. Could you talk about each of those a little?
Yes. So first was holistic well-being, which is wish-fulfillment. It often reduces anxiety and depression and helps people feel more hopeful.
Second is a family connection. We found studies that said that with bucket lists, the families have described a bonding experience and also compared this bucket-list experience to major life events.
Third is that patients or individuals often felt very thankful and spiritually fulfilled, which helped both them and their loved ones to find closure towards their end.
And lastly, we also found that nurses, social workers, physicians, researchers, were very crucial in making these wishes possible.
Well, you know, you started to answer this question already because I was going to ask: who primarily benefits from talking about and trying to fulfill these wishes? The loved ones or the person making the wish? It sounds like both.
Yes. We also found in children, who were in end-of-life care or palliative care, that even the parents of the children have a feeling of fulfillment and have a feeling of more calmness towards them when they see their child achieving those goals and wishes that they want.
Did you hear anything about concerns that making a list of wishes could lead to disappointment if everything isn鈥檛 fulfilled?
I mean, in some aspects, yes, we got to a point where we saw people weren鈥檛 happy 鈥� because sometimes individuals are in certain stages of their treatment where they cannot take a flight or travel long distances over 10-15 hours. So if they want to go to Paris or Disney World, they probably cannot take that trip, or the doctors or nurses don鈥檛 approve of that kind of trip at that point in their treatment.
We do find that kind of disappointment and them wishing that 鈥渙h, I wish we had more time,鈥� and you know, kind of have that experience.
What else would you like to see as far as research on this topic?
For me, this project is about reminding us that care during end-of-life or palliative or hospice is not just about comfort, it鈥檚 also about giving meaning to our lives.
So even though it might be very small acts of compassion 鈥� maybe just probably having a meal at McDonald鈥檚, or going to see a sunset 鈥� these wishes can be granted and can help people reclaim their identity beyond their illness and their diagnosis.
Moving forward, I hope to see how we can make wish-fulfillment opportunities more equitable and accessible for everyone, regardless of background or resources or whatever. Because at the end of the day, everybody deserves that kind of closure, dignity and joy.
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