Oregon physicians' responses to requests for assisted suicide: a qualitative study.

Title

Oregon physicians' responses to requests for assisted suicide: a qualitative study.

Creator

Dobscha SK; Heintz RT; Press Nancy; Ganzini L

Publisher

Journal Of Palliative Medicine

Date

2004

Subject

Female; Humans; Male; Physician-Patient Relations; Attitude of Health Personnel; Interviews as Topic; Qualitative Research; Oregon; Suicide; Physicians/px [Psychology]; Suicide; Assisted/es [Ethics]; Assisted/lj [Legislation & Jurisprudence]; Assisted/px [Psychology]; Physician Assisted Dying PAD; Right to Die/lj [Legislation & Jurisprudence]

Description

In 1997, the Oregon Death with Dignity Act was enacted, allowing physicians to prescribe lethal dosages of medication to competent, terminally ill patients who request them. To improve our understanding of physicians' reactions to requests for assisted suicide, we performed semistructured interviews of 35 Oregon physicians who had received requests from patients. Interviews were completed in 2000, and audiotaped, transcribed, and analyzed using qualitative techniques. Requests for assisted suicide had a powerful impact on physicians and their practices. Physicians often felt unprepared, and experienced apprehension and discomfort before and after receiving requests. Prominent sources of discomfort included concerns about adequately managing symptoms and suffering, not wanting to abandon patients, and incomplete understanding of patients' preferences, especially when physicians did not know patients well. Participation in assisted suicide required a large investment of time and was emotionally intense. Regardless of whether they prescribed or not, physicians did not express major regrets about their decisions. Requests often facilitated discussion of important issues, and many physicians felt that the process increased their confidence and assertiveness in discussing end-of-life issues with other patients. Physicians rarely sought support from colleagues; instead, they tended to discuss emotional aspects of their experiences with their spouses.
2004

Rights

Article information provided for research and reference use only. PedPalASCNET does not hold any rights over the resource listed here. All rights are retained by the journal listed under publisher and/or the creator(s).

Type

Journal Article

Citation List Month

Backlog

Citation

Dobscha SK; Heintz RT; Press Nancy; Ganzini L, “Oregon physicians' responses to requests for assisted suicide: a qualitative study.,” Pediatric Palliative Care Library, accessed March 28, 2024, https://pedpalascnetlibrary.omeka.net/items/show/12867.