Participatory action research (PAR) is a collaborative approach to inquiry for education and social change that is gaining increasing prominence in health education. This case study explores the use of PAR by and with a community of people with disabilities in addressing a polarizing issue in that community: death with dignity or physician-assisted suicide legislation. Following a brief review of the debate within the community about this issue and the goals, methods, and findings of this project, the authors examine four key ethical challenges. These are dilemmas in issue selection when the community is deeply divided over a problem area, inclusion and exclusion in study team makeup and sample selection, insider/outsider issues, and how best to use findings in ways that can unite and strengthen the community. The implications of these issues for health educators and others engaged in community-based PAR efforts are presented.

Most people in Germany die in institutions; the most common place of death is still the hospital, where more than half of all deaths take place. Only one death in four occurs at home. There is a marked secular trend away from dying at home or in the hospital, in favor of dying in a care or nursing home; death in palliative care units and hospices is also becoming more common.

This article presents the methods, findings, and implications of a participatory action research project that attempted to shed additional light on the debate over death with dignity (DWD) or physician-assisted suicide (PAS) legislation. In-depth, qualitative interviews with forty-five physically disabled residents of the San Francisco Bay Area, conducted by others with disabilities, revealed a wide breadth of opinions about and attitudes toward such legislation. For close to half of the participants, the desire for autonomy in making end-of-life decisions was a primary concern, yet fear that PAS legislation could violate this autonomy in various ways was a deep concern as well. Also reported were widespread accounts of disability-based discrimination and frequent expressions of fear about openly discussing positions that diverge from the official, publicly held opinions of disability leaders who oppose such legislation. The findings support those of a recent Harris poll demonstrating considerable diversity of opinion about PAS legislation among people with disabilities. The findings further suggest the need for additional research on the apparent disjunction between the diversity of attitudes held by those interviewed and the more unified position taken by many disability activists. Use of the study findings to promote greater dialogue within the community and to better position people with disabilities to take their place at the policy table also is discussed. In addition, the findings are seen as reinforcing the need for the public health community to become more engaged in this central ethical debate.

Participatory action research (PAR) is a collaborative approach to inquiry for education and social change that is gaining increasing prominence in health education. This case study explores the use of PAR by and with a community of people with disabilities in addressing a polarizing issue in that community: death with dignity or physician-assisted suicide legislation. Following a brief review of the debate within the community about this issue and the goals, methods, and findings of this project, the authors examine four key ethical challenges. These are dilemmas in issue selection when the community is deeply divided over a problem area, inclusion and exclusion in study team makeup and sample selection, insider/outsider issues, and how best to use findings in ways that can unite and strengthen the community. The implications of these issues for health educators and others engaged in community-based PAR efforts are presented.

A series of tris-ene trigonal-planar nickel(0), palladium(0), and platinum(0) complexes M(η 2 ,η 2 ,η 2 -C 10 H 16 N 2 Me 2 ) (M ) Ni-Pt (2a-4a)) and M(η 2 ,η 2 ,η 2 -C 10 H 16 N 2 (C 3 H 5 ) 2 ) (M ) Ni-Pt (2b-4b)) have been prepared using the open-chain aminoalkenes N,N′-dimethyl-4,9-diazadodeca-1,trans-6,11-triene (1,4-bis(allylmethylamino)-trans-2-butene, 1a) and N,N′-diallyl-4,9-diazadodeca-1,trans-6,11-triene (1,4bis(diallylamino)-trans-2-butene, 1b). The ligands comprise a central diamino-trans-2-butene moiety with terminal N-allyl groups, so that the CdC groups are positioned in a repetitive 1,6-sequence. This confers useful properties on the metal complexes. The molecular structure of 2b has been determined by X-ray crystallography.