Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38684276›Full record

ArticleBMJ open2024

Frequency of self-directed dying in the Netherlands: research protocol of a cross-sectional mixed-methods study.

Fenne Bosma, Arianne Stoppelenburg, Agnes van der Heide, Suzanne van de Vathorst

Registry-linked trialAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BMJ open, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT06186791 (Self-directed Dying in the Netherlands by Voluntarily Stopping Eating and Drinking or Independently Intake of Lethal Medication Attended by a Confidant.), which is not on this map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
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.

NCT06186791 completednot on this map

Self-directed Dying in the Netherlands by Voluntarily Stopping Eating and Drinking or Independently Intake of Lethal Medication Attended by a Confidant.

TypeobservationalSponsorErasmus Medical CenterRan2024 to 2024Enrolled37,500ConditionsSuicide, Assisted, Fasting, Decision Making
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

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.

Fenne BosmaDepartment of Public Health, Erasmus University Medical Center, Rotterdam, Netherlands f.bosma@erasmusmc.nl.ORCID 0000-0001-5129-2806
Arianne StoppelenburgDepartment of Public Health, Erasmus University Medical Center, Rotterdam, Netherlands.
Agnes van der HeideDepartment of Public Health, Erasmus University Medical Center, Rotterdam, Netherlands.
Suzanne van de VathorstDepartment of Medical Ethics, Philosophy, and History of Medicine, Erasmus University Medical Center, Rotterdam, Netherlands.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionIn the Netherlands, assisting in suicide is allowed for physicians and regulated by the Termination of Life on Request and Assisted Suicide (review procedures) Act. However, some people decide to end their lives outside the medical domain, without a physician's help. Two approaches for such self-directed dying are voluntary stopping eating and drinking (VSED) and independently taking lethal medication attended by a confidant (ILMC). The frequency of deaths by either of these methods in the Netherlands was examined in 2007. Since then, there have been societal, political and healthcare developments which may have had an influence on the frequency of self-directed dying. The primary objective of this study is to estimate how many people in the Netherlands currently die by VSED or ILMC. Secondary objectives include providing insight in the characteristics and quality of dying of people who choose for self-directed dying. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: This cross-sectional study consists of an online questionnaire study (January to February 2024) among a randomly drawn sample (n=37 500) from a representative panel of the Dutch adult population in which participants are asked about potential experiences of close relatives choosing for VSED or ILMC. A two-stage screening procedure will be used to determine whether the respondents' experiences represent a death by VSED or ILMC. Additional interviews (n=40) will be held with questionnaire respondents indicating their willingness to participate (May to September 2024). Quantitative data will be analysed using SPSS software, and qualitative data will be thematically analysed using NVivo software. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: The study obtained approval from the Medical Research Ethics Committee of the Erasmus Medical Center, under number MEC-2023-0689. Informed consent will be sought from study participants in line with General Data Protection Regulation legislation. Results of the study will be disseminated through publications in scientific journals and conference presentations. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NCT06186791.

Indexed as

Suicide, AssistedAdultCross-Sectional StudiesFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedNetherlandsResearch DesignSurveys and QuestionnairesDecision MakingPUBLIC HEALTHQUALITATIVE RESEARCHSurveys and Questionnaires

Identifiers

PMID38684276
PMCPMC11086523

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC
Read underepoch 390

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.