Evidence map›Paper›PMID 35360142›Full record

ArticleFrontiers in psychiatry2022

Concrete Experiences and Support Needs Regarding the Euthanasia Practice in Adults With Psychiatric Conditions: A Qualitative Interview Study Among Healthcare Professionals and Volunteers in Belgium.

Monica Verhofstadt, Kurt Audenaert, Freddy Mortier, Luc Deliens, Axel Liégeois, Koen Pardon, Kenneth Chambaere

Open access · goldAbstract read
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Article in Frontiers in psychiatry, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
6citing papers in PubMed
2.8field-weighted citation impact, top 10% 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

6 citing papers in PubMed, 12 citations in OpenAlex.

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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

7 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.

Monica VerhofstadtEnd-of-life Care Research Group, Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) & Ghent University, Brussels, Belgium.
Kurt AudenaertDepartment of Psychiatry, Ghent University Hospital, Ghent, Belgium.
Freddy MortierEnd-of-life Care Research Group, Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) & Ghent University, Brussels, Belgium.
Luc DeliensEnd-of-life Care Research Group, Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) & Ghent University, Brussels, Belgium.
Axel LiégeoisFaculty of Theology and Religious Studies, KU Leuven, Louvain, Belgium.
Koen PardonEnd-of-life Care Research Group, Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) & Ghent University, Brussels, Belgium.
Kenneth ChambaereEnd-of-life Care Research Group, Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) & Ghent University, Brussels, Belgium.
Ghent University · BEVrije Universiteit Brussel · BEGhent University Hospital · BEKU Leuven · BE

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Objective: Although euthanasia in the context of adult psychiatry is legalized in Belgium, it poses major ethical and clinical challenges for the health care professionals and volunteers involved. This study aimed to address these members' concrete experiences and support needs. Methods: A qualitative semi-structured interview study was conducted with 16 physicians and 14 other health care professionals and volunteers, with at least one concrete experience with euthanasia requests and procedures concerning adults with psychiatric conditions. Findings: Concrete experiences concerned the following 8 domains: (1) the impact of euthanasia on the clinical trajectory and (2) on the therapeutic relationship, (3) internal and (4) external collaborative partnerships, (5) patients' social inner circle (non-)involvement, (6) the use of recently published guidelines and, (7) the first criminal trials on this topic, and (8) the act of euthanasia. The following 8 main support needs emerged; (1) protocols addressing specific sub-populations and pathologies, (2) protocols specifically drawn up for non-medics, (3) guidance on how to adequately implement the two-track approach, (4) (after)care for patients, (5) (after)care for the health care team, (6) guidance on the patient's social inner circle involvement, (7) enhanced education measures, and (8) enhanced financial measures, including incentives for holistic, palliative care approaches. Conclusion: The health care professionals and volunteers reported many positive and negative experiences in dealing with euthanasia requests in adult psychiatry. They reported several support needs across the extensive euthanasia trajectory, pertaining to concrete management of thorny issues that guidelines do not (yet) touch on. Important implications of our study relate to tackling these existing issues, and to paying sufficient attention to the impact of a euthanasia trajectory on all actors, including the patients and their social inner circle, involved.

Indexed as

adult psychiatryassisted suicideend-of-life decisionseuthanasiamental disorder

Identifiers

PMID35360142
PMCPMC8963330
OpenAlexW4221115286

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.