Evidence map›Paper›PMID 25528457›Full record

ArticleBMC medical ethics2014

Trust increases euthanasia acceptance: a multilevel analysis using the European Values Study.

Vanessa Köneke

Open access · goldAbstract readComparative Study
In one paragraph

Article in BMC medical ethics, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
9citing papers in PubMed
7.3field-weighted citation impact, top 4% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

9 citing papers in PubMed, 32 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
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  5. Spanish Version of the Attitude Towards Euthanasia Scale.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2020
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

1 author at 1 institution in 1 country.

Vanessa KönekeCologne Graduate School and SOCLIFE Research Training Group, University of Cologne, Albertus-Magnus-Platz, 50931 Cologne, Germany. koeneke@wiso-uni-koeln.de.
University of Cologne · DE

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThis study tests how various kinds of trust impact attitudes toward euthanasia among the general public. The indication that trust might have an impact on euthanasia attitudes is based on the slippery slope argument, which asserts that allowing euthanasia might lead to abuses and involuntary deaths. Adopting this argument usually leads to less positive attitudes towards euthanasia. Tying in with this, it is assumed here that greater trust diminishes such slippery slope fears, and thereby increases euthanasia acceptance.

methodsThe effects of various trust indicators on euthanasia acceptance were tested using multilevel analysis, and data from the European Values Study 2008 (N = 49,114, 44 countries). More precisely, the influence of people's general levels of trust in other people, and their confidence in the health care system, were measured--both at the individual and at the country level. Confidence in the state and the press were accounted for as well, since both institutions might monitor and safeguard euthanasia practices.

resultsIt was shown that the level of trust in a country was strongly positively linked to euthanasia attitudes, both for general trust and for confidence in health care. In addition, within countries, people who perceived their fellow citizens as trustworthy, and who had confidence in the press, were more supportive of euthanasia than their less trusting counterparts. The pattern was, however, not true for confidence in the state and for confidence in the health care system at the individual level. Notably, all confirmative effects held, even when other variables such as religiosity, education, and values regarding autonomy were controlled for.

conclusionsTrust seems to be a noteworthy construct to explain differences in attitudes towards euthanasia, especially when drawing cross-country comparisons. Therefore, it should be added to the existing literature on correlates of euthanasia attitudes.

Indexed as

AttitudeDelivery of Health CareEuthanasiaMass MediaPatient Acceptance of Health CarePersonal AutonomyPhysician-Patient RelationsTrustAdultAgedCross-Cultural ComparisonCultural CharacteristicsEuropeFemaleHuman CharacteristicsHumans

Identifiers

PMID25528457
PMCPMC4289573
OpenAlexW1572182236

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.