Trends in Swedish physicians’ attitudes towards physician-assisted suicide: a cross-sectional study

Autor: Mikael Sandlund, Ingemar Engström, Anna Lindblad, Niels Lynøe, Niklas Juth
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2021
Předmět:
Medical Ethics
medicine.medical_specialty
Health (social science)
Palliative care
Cross-sectional study
Attitude of Health Personnel
Medical philosophy. Medical ethics
Physician assisted suicide
Autonomy principle
0603 philosophy
ethics and religion
Medicinsk etik
Suicide
Assisted
03 medical and health sciences
Postal questionnaire
0302 clinical medicine
Physicians
Surveys and Questionnaires
Health care
medicine
Övrig annan medicin och hälsovetenskap
Humans
030212 general & internal medicine
Geriatrics
Sweden
R723-726
business.industry
Health Policy
Research
Physician attitude
Non-maleficent principle
06 humanities and the arts
Other Medical Sciences not elsewhere specified
Trust in healthcare
Prescribing drugs
Issues
ethics and legal aspects
Cross-Sectional Studies
Philosophy of medicine
Family medicine
Respondent
060301 applied ethics
business
Zdroj: BMC Medical Ethics, Vol 22, Iss 1, Pp 1-9 (2021)
BMC Medical Ethics
ISSN: 1472-6939
Popis: Aims To examine attitudes towards physician-assisted suicide (PAS) among physicians in Sweden and compare these with the results from a similar cross-sectional study performed in 2007. Participants A random selection of 250 physicians from each of six specialties (general practice, geriatrics, internal medicine, oncology, surgery and psychiatry) and all 127 palliative care physicians in Sweden were invited to participate in this study. Setting A postal questionnaire commissioned by the Swedish Medical Society in collaboration with Karolinska Institute in Stockholm. Results The total response rate was 59.2%. Slightly fewer than half [47.1% (95% CI 43.7–50.5)] of the respondents from the six specialties accepted PAS, which is significantly more than accepted PAS in the 2007 study [34.9% (95% CI 31.5–38.3)]. Thirty-three percent of respondents were prepared to prescribe the needed drugs. When asked what would happen to the respondent’s own trust in healthcare, a majority [67.1% (95% CI 63.9–70.3)] stated that legalizing PAS would either not influence their own trust in healthcare, or that their trust would increase. This number is an increase compared to the 2007 survey, when just over half [51.9% (95% CI 48.0–55.2)] indicated that their own trust would either not be influenced, or would increase. Conclusions The study reveals a shift towards a more accepting attitude concerning PAS among physicians in Sweden. Only a minority of the respondents stated that they were against PAS, and a considerable proportion reported being prepared to prescribe the needed drugs for patient self-administration if PAS were legalized.
Databáze: OpenAIRE
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