ArticleBMC palliative care2015
Palliative care professionals' willingness to perform euthanasia or physician assisted suicide.
Article in BMC palliative care, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 12 papers.
What it found
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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.
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.
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Who cites it
12 citing papers in PubMed, 44 citations in OpenAlex.
- The role of social norms, empathy, and religiosity in assisted dying decisions: an fMRI study.Cognitive, affective & behavioral neuroscience · 2026Article
- Assisted Suicide in Austria: Nurses' Understanding of Patients' Requests and the Role of Patient Symptoms.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2025Article
- Facing a request for assisted death - views of Finnish physicians, a mixed method study.BMC medical ethics · 2024Article
- One third of physicians discuss exit strategies with patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: Results from nationwide surveys among German and Polish neurologists.Brain and behavior · 2024Article
- Contextualizing attitudes toward medical aid in dying in a national sample of interdisciplinary US hospice clinicians: hospice philosophy of care, patient-centered care, and professional exposure.Palliative care and social practice · 2024Article
- Attitudes and opinions towards suicidality in professionals working with oncology patients: results from an online survey.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2022Article
- Physician-Patient Relationship, Assisted Suicide and the Italian Constitutional Court.Journal of bioethical inquiry · 2021Article
- Medical Faculty Students' Views on Euthanasia: Does It Change With Medical Education?Alpha psychiatry · 2021Article
- End-of-life decision making by Austrian physicians - a cross-sectional study.BMC palliative care · 2020Article
- The spectrum of end of life care: an argument for access to medical assistance in dying for vulnerable populations.Medicine, health care, and philosophy · 2019Review
- A National Survey of Canadian Psychiatrists' Attitudes toward Medical Assistance in Death.Canadian journal of psychiatry. Revue canadienne de psychiatrie · 2017Article
- Survey on German Palliative Care Specialists' Experiences with Advance Directives.Pain and therapy · 2017Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundEuthanasia and physician assisted suicide (PAS) are highly debated upon particularly in the light of medical advancement and an aging society. Little is known about the professionals' willingness to perform these practices particularly among those engaged in the field of palliative care and pain management. Thus a study was performed among those professionals.
methodsAn anonymous questionnaire was handed out to all participants of a palliative care congress and a pain symposium in 2013. The questionnaire consisted of 8 questions regarding end of life decisions. Proposed patient vignettes were used.
resultsA total of 470 eligible questionnaires were returned, 198 by physicians, 272 by nurses. The response rate was 64 %. The majority of professionals were reluctant to perform euthanasia or PAS: 5.3 % of the respondents would be willing to perform euthanasia on a patient with a terminal illness if asked to do so. The reluctance grew in case of a patient with a non-terminal illness. The respondents were more willing to perform PAS than euthanasia. Nurses were more reluctant to take action as opposed to the physicians. The majority of the respondents would attempt to treat the patient's symptoms first before considering life-ending measures. As regards any decision making process the majority would consult with a colleague.
conclusionsThis is the first German study to ask about the willingness of professionals to take action as regards euthanasia and PAS without biased phrasing. As opposed to the general acceptance that is respectively high, the actual willingness to perform life-ending measures is low. The German debate on physician assisted suicide and its possible legalization should also incorporate clarifications regarding the responsibility who should eventually perform these acts.
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Registered trials
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.