Abstract
BackgroundEuthanasia and physician assisted suicide (PAS) are highly debated upon particularly in the light of medical advancement and an aging society. Little is known about the professionals’ willingness to perform these practices particularly among those engaged in the field of palliative care and pain management. Thus a study was performed among those professionals.MethodsAn anonymous questionnaire was handed out to all participants of a palliative care congress and a pain symposium in 2013. The questionnaire consisted of 8 questions regarding end of life decisions. Proposed patient vignettes were used.ResultsA total of 470 eligible questionnaires were returned, 198 by physicians, 272 by nurses. The response rate was 64 %. The majority of professionals were reluctant to perform euthanasia or PAS: 5.3 % of the respondents would be willing to perform euthanasia on a patient with a terminal illness if asked to do so. The reluctance grew in case of a patient with a non-terminal illness. The respondents were more willing to perform PAS than euthanasia. Nurses were more reluctant to take action as opposed to the physicians. The majority of the respondents would attempt to treat the patient’s symptoms first before considering life-ending measures. As regards any decision making process the majority would consult with a colleague.ConclusionsThis is the first German study to ask about the willingness of professionals to take action as regards euthanasia and PAS without biased phrasing. As opposed to the general acceptance that is respectively high, the actual willingness to perform life-ending measures is low. The German debate on physician assisted suicide and its possible legalization should also incorporate clarifications regarding the responsibility who should eventually perform these acts.
Highlights
Euthanasia and physician assisted suicide (PAS) are highly debated upon in the light of medical advancement and an aging society
In this paper the definition of euthanasia is: " A doctor intentionally killing a person by the administration of drugs, at that person’s voluntary and competent request" [2]. " PAS is a doctor intentionally helping a person to commit suicide by providing drugs for self-administration, at that person’s voluntary and competent request" [2]
This was not unexpected regarding the sample and its structure. This might point to possible deficits in the strength of the statistical significance of the data at hand. This is the first German study to ask about the willingness of professionals to take action as regards euthanasia and PAS without biased phrasing such as euthanasia from the Greek “help to die” in German “Sterbehilfe”
Summary
Euthanasia and physician assisted suicide (PAS) are highly debated upon in the light of medical advancement and an aging society [1]. In this paper the definition of euthanasia is: " A doctor intentionally killing a person by the administration of drugs, at that person’s voluntary and competent request" [2]. " PAS is a doctor intentionally helping a person to commit suicide by providing drugs for self-administration, at that person’s voluntary and competent request" [2]. The German Society of Palliative Care, has taken a stand and declared their rejection of PAS [3, 4]. At the same time the support for euthanasia among the German public is growing [5]
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