Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40899252›Full record

ArticlePalliative & supportive care2025

Shaping a knowable event or embracing a mysterious journey: A mixed methods study on palliative care clinician views on voluntary assisted dying.

Graham Llewellyn Grove, Melanie R Lovell, Phyllis Butow, Ian Hughes, Megan Best

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Palliative & supportive care, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing 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

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. 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.

Graham Llewellyn GroveSpecialist Palliative Care, Gold Coast Hospital and Health Service, Southport, QLD, Australia.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5026-9647
Melanie R LovellDepartment of Palliative Care, HammondCare, Greenwich Hospital, Greenwich, NSW, Australia.
Phyllis ButowPsycho-Oncology Co-operative Research Group (PoCoG), School of Psychology, The University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW, Australia.
Ian HughesResearch Office, Gold Coast University Hospital, Southport, QLD, Australia.
Megan BestSchool of Medicine, The University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW, Australia.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1570-8872

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectivesThis study explored Australian palliative care clinicians' perspectives on the legalization of voluntary assisted dying (VAD), aiming to identify variables associated with clinicians' views and understand challenges of its implementation.

methodsAn online survey exploring support for legalization of VAD was sent to palliative care clinicians in Queensland and New South Wales and followed up with semi-structured interviews. Support was categorized as positive, uncertain, or negative. An ordinal logistic regression model was used to identify variables independently predictive of euthanasia support. Interviews were analyzed using grounded theory to understand key concepts shaping views on VAD.

resultsOf 142 respondents, 53% supported, 10% were uncertain, and 37% opposed legalizing euthanasia for terminal illness with severe symptoms. Support was lower for patients with chronic illness (34%), severe disability (24%), depression (9%), severe dementia (5%), and for any adult with capacity (4%). The model showed lower support among doctors than nurses (38% vs. 69%, SIGNIFICANCE OF

resultsThere are 2 fundamentally different orientations toward VAD among palliative care clinicians, which will likely contribute to tensions within teams. Acknowledging that both perspectives are rooted in compassion may provide a constructive basis for navigating disagreements and supporting team cohesion.

Indexed as

Attitude of Health PersonnelHealth PersonnelPalliative CareSuicide, AssistedAdultFemaleGrounded TheoryHumansInterviews as TopicMaleMiddle AgedNew South WalesQualitative ResearchQueenslandSurveys and Questionnairesclinician viewseuthanasiapalliative carephysician-assisted suicideVoluntary assisted dying

Identifiers

PMID40899252
PMCPMC13166625

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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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.