Attitudes of cancer patients, their family members and health professionals toward active euthanasia

Abstract

This qualitative study describes the attitudes of four groups of people in cancer care toward active euthanasia. Patients (32) with incurable cancer, their family members (13), nurses (13) and physicians (13) participated in the study which was carried out in two central hospitals and in four health centres in Finland. The data was collected by means of focused interviews which were taped, transcribed and then analysed by content analysis. More than half of the participants said that they could ethically justify active euthanasia. Most of these were family members and nurses. The main reasons for their ethical justification were the terminal illness of the patient, the presence of suffering and pain and the patient's own request. Those who could not justify active euthanasia said that one human being has no right to decide death of another. Potential abuse, uncertainty about the finality of the situation, the possibility of effective alleviation of symptoms and the effects which the practice might have on medical staff were also mentioned by this group. The results of this study support the assumption given in the earlier literature that attitudes toward active euthanasia are most positive where terminally ill cancer patients are concerned.

The complexity of nurses’ attitudes toward euthanasia: a review of the literature

“…The thirty studies comprised eighteen quantitative studies, [11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29] nine qualitative studies, [30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37] two literature reviews, 2 3 and one anthropological account of euthanasia practice.…”

“…These findings of a correlation between palliative care and a lower support for euthanasia are corroborated neither by Kuhse and Singer, 20 nor by Kuupelomäki. 31 Verpoort et al's 36 findings showed that while the majority of Belgian palliative care nurses expressed negative attitudes toward euthanasia, they were not a priori for or against euthanasia. Overall, their attitudes tended to mirror the dynamics of clinical practice and could change depending on the situation of each individual patient.…”

Assessment of nurses’ views about euthanasia according to their departments

“…Kuuppelomäki'nin yaptığı bir çalışmada hemşirelerin %62,0'si ve hekimlerin %46'sı aktif öta-naziye olumlu baktıklarını belirtmiştir [21]. Yurt dışında yapılan çalışmalarda ötanaziyi destekleme oranı %60 ile %90 arasında değişmektedir [22,23].…”

Multifaceted Nature of Euthanasia

“…4 The perceptions of registered nurses (RNs) have been rarely explored, although findings from countries that have legalized euthanasia emphasize their significant role in the process. [11][12][13][14] Since 2000, only 2 studies have explored Finnish nurses' views of euthanasia, 4,15 although its legalization would potentially affect more than 50 000 nurses in Finland. 16 …”