ArticlePalliative care and social practice2026
Institutional challenges in responding to Austria's Dying Decree Law: An evaluation from the perspectives of nursing and medical directors.
Article in Palliative care and social practice, 2026. 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
Background: On 1 January 2022, assisted suicide became legal in Austria with the enactment of the Dying Decree Law (Sterbeverfügungsgesetz, StVfG). This law has posed complex practical and ethical challenges for nursing facilities and hospitals. Medical and nursing directors are tasked with guiding their staff amidst legal uncertainties, emotional burdens, and limited institutional dialogue. Objectives: This study aimed to assess directors' self-reported knowledge of the law, their experiences managing assisted suicide requests, their perceived adequacy of support in navigating the legal framework, and the presence of institutional guidelines. Design: A cross-sectional mixed-methods study. Methods: An online questionnaire was used to collect data from 239 medical and nursing directors across all nine federal states of Austria (mean age = 49.5 years, SD = 8.5; 65.7% female, 32.2% male; 23.7% working in faith-based institutions, 61.9% in non-faith-based institutions, and 14.4% prefer not to disclose). Quantitative data were analysed using chi-square tests, Results: 44.0% of directors knew the regulations of the Dying Decree Law but were insecure in regards to the application in practice, while 13.4% of directors reported no familiarity with Law at all. Legal familiarity correlated with gender ( Conclusion: The findings reveal knowledge gaps, institutional disparities, and limited guidance on the Dying Decree Law. Directors report insufficient preparedness, highlighting the need for clearer institutional guidelines and enhanced legal, ethical, and psychological support. Trial registration: This study was registered in the Open Science Framework (OSF) at https://osf.io/bgpsa.
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