ArticleHealthcare (Basel, Switzerland)2025
Confronting Patients' Refusal to Undergo Treatment: A Cross-Sectional Study of Ethical Attitudes and Intended Behaviour Among Lithuanian Physicians.
Article in Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland), 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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Abstract
introductionRefusal to undergo treatment, including one of its manifestations, discharge against medical advice, must be informed, just as consent is, which is considered a core ethical principle in contemporary medical ethics. The aim of this study was to explore physicians' attitudes and intended behaviour toward patients' refusal of necessary treatment and to identify factors associated with their clinical decisions in such situations.
methodsA cross-sectional anonymous online survey of 393 physicians working in Lithuanian public hospitals was conducted between November 2020 and March 2021 using the secure national platform manoapklausa.lt. A convenience sampling strategy ensured representation of both large university and smaller regional hospitals, and all responses were complete due to mandatory fields in the questionnaire.
resultsMost physicians (85%; 95% CI 81.2 to 88.5) have encountered situations of refusal to undergo treatment. Women (
conclusionsOur findings show that, despite the legal restrictions, many physicians would still choose to treat against a patient's will, reflecting a persistent paternalistic attitude even in the presence of clear legal prohibitions.
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