Evidence map›Paper›PMID 27785588›Full record

ArticleMedicine, health care, and philosophy2017

"We need to talk!" Barriers to GPs' communication about the option of physician-assisted suicide and their ethical implications: results from a qualitative study.

Ina C Otte, Corinna Jung, Bernice Elger, Klaus Bally

Open access · hybridAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Medicine, health care, and philosophy, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 12 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
12citing papers in PubMed, 3 pooled it
5.8field-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

12 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 32 citations in OpenAlex.

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  6. Assisted Suicide in Austria: Nurses' Understanding of Patients' Requests and the Role of Patient Symptoms.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2025
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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

4 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Ina C OtteInstitute for Biomedical Ethics, University of Basel, Bernoullistr. 28, 4056, Basel, Switzerland. ina.otte@unibas.ch.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0280-0899
Corinna JungInstitute of Primary Health Care, University of Basel, Klingelbergstr. 61, 4056, Basel, Switzerland.
Bernice ElgerInstitute for Biomedical Ethics, University of Basel, Bernoullistr. 28, 4056, Basel, Switzerland.
Klaus BallyInstitute of Primary Health Care, University of Basel, Klingelbergstr. 61, 4056, Basel, Switzerland.
University of Basel · CH

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

GPs usually care for their patients for an extended period of time, therefore, requests to not only discontinue a patient's treatment but to assist a patient in a suicide are likely to create intensely stressful situations for physicians. However, in order to ensure the best patient care possible, the competent communication about the option of physician assisted suicide (PAS) as well as the assessment of the origin and sincerity of the request are very important. This is especially true, since patients' requests for PAS can also be an indicator for unmet needs or concerns. Twenty-three qualitative semi-structured interviews were conducted to in-depth explore this multifaceted, complex topic while enabling GPs to express possible difficulties when being asked for assistance. The analysis of the gathered data shows three main themes why GPs may find it difficult to professionally communicate about PAS: concerns for their own psychological well-being, conflicting personal values or their understanding of their professional role. In the discussion part of this paper we re-assess these different themes in order to ethically discuss and analyse how potential barriers to professional communication concerning PAS could be overcome.

Indexed as

CommunicationSuicide, AssistedAttitude of Health PersonnelHumansPhysician-Patient RelationsQualitative ResearchAssisted dyingCommunicationGeneral practiceMedical ethics

Identifiers

PMID27785588
PMCPMC5487738
OpenAlexW2544992524

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.