Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40287660›Full record

ArticleBMC palliative care2025

Preparing for the end-of-life: public attitudes towards advance directives and assisted suicide in Switzerland.

Solenne Blanc, Clément Meier, Claudia Gamondi, Jürgen Maurer, Ralf J Jox

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in BMC palliative care, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing 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.

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

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
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

5 authors.

Solenne BlancPalliative and Supportive Care Service, Chair in Geriatric Palliative Care, and Institute of Humanities in Medicine, Lausanne University Hospital and University of Lausanne, Avenue Pierre-Decker 5, CH- 1011, Lausanne, Switzerland. solenne.blanc@chuv.ch.
Clément MeierFaculty of Business and Economics (HEC), University of Lausanne, and Swiss Centre of Expertise in the Social Sciences (FORS), Swiss National Centre of Competence in Research LIVES - Overcoming vulnerability: Life course perspectives, Lausanne, Switzerland.
Claudia GamondiPalliative and Supportive Care Service, Chair in Geriatric Palliative Care, Lausanne University Hospital and University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland.
Jürgen MaurerFaculty of Business and Economics (HEC), University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland.
Ralf J JoxPalliative and Supportive Care Service, Chair in Geriatric Palliative Care, and Institute of Humanities in Medicine, Lausanne University Hospital and University of Lausanne, Avenue Pierre-Decker 5, CH- 1011, Lausanne, Switzerland.

Funding

Schweizerischer Nationalfonds zur Förderung der Wissenschaftlichen Forschung 207814Schweizerischer Nationalfonds zur Förderung der Wissenschaftlichen Forschung 21530
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundDespite public support for assisted suicide (AS) and advance directives (AD), no studies have established whether individuals express interest in both procedures. This study investigates the relationship between AD completion and attitudes toward assisted suicide, examining whether Swiss older adults inclined toward AD also demonstrate positive attitudes toward AS.

methodData from 1,523 participants aged 58 and older were collected through the Swiss component of the representative Survey on Health, Ageing, and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) for 2019/2020. Participants were asked if they had completed AD. Attitudes toward AS were assessed using three key questions: support for AS, consideration of it, and membership in a right-to-die organization. Probit regression models analyzed the associations, considering various social, health, and regional characteristics.

resultsOverall, 42% of the sample had completed AD. Additionally, 81% supported legal access to AS, 63% considered asking for it, and 9% were members of a right-to-die association. Among members of a right-to-die a, 89% had completed an AD. Respondents who had completed AD were more likely to support AS (p < 0.001), consider it (p < 0.001), and be members of a right-to-die organization (p < 0.001).

conclusionsThe study reveals an association between completing AD and supporting attitudes toward AS among older adults in Switzerland, highlighting how the desire to control end-of-life experiences can drive interest in both procedures. Future developments in end-of-life care planning should consider incorporating discussions and documentation of AD and AS together.

Indexed as

Advance DirectivesPublic OpinionSuicide, AssistedTerminal CareAgedAged, 80 and overFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedSurveys and QuestionnairesSwitzerlandAdvance care planningAdvance directivesAssisted dyingPalliative carePatient preferences

Identifiers

PMID40287660
PMCPMC12034111

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.