| Autor: |
Schildmann, Jan, Hoetzel, Julia, Mueller-Busch, Christof, Vollmann, Jochen |
| Předmět: |
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| Zdroj: |
Palliative Medicine; Dec2010, Vol. 24 Issue 8, p820-827, 8p, 4 Charts |
| Abstrakt: |
Objectives: To elicit types and frequencies of end-of-life practices by physician members of the German Society for Palliative Medicine. To analyse associations between characteristics of physicians and patients and end-of-life practices with intended hastening of death.Design: Cross-sectional postal survey.Main outcome measures: Types and frequencies of end-of-life practices with foreseeable or intended hastening of patients’ death. Association between end-of-life practices with hastening of death and predefined characteristics of physicians and patients.Results: Nine hundred and one physicians participated in the study (response rate: 55.8%). There was alleviation of symptoms in 78.1% and limitation of medical treatment with possible life shortening in 69.1% of cases. In 10 cases medication had been administered by the physician (N = 9) or the patient (N = 1) with the intention to hasten death. Patients’ best interest and avoidance of possible harm to the patient were reported as reasons for non-involvement of competent patients in decision making. Physicians with added qualification in palliative medicine significantly less frequently reported end-of-life practices with intended hastening of death (p = 0.003).Conclusion: Physician members of the German Society for Palliative Medicine perform a broad spectrum of end-of-life practices including intended hastening of death. The findings on patients’ non-involvement in decision making warrant further empirical—ethical analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER] |
| Databáze: |
Complementary Index |
| Externí odkaz: |
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