Canadian family members' experiences with guilt, judgment and secrecy during medical assistance in dying: a qualitative descriptive study.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Although research briefly mentions that family members have encountered unexpected experiences during the medical assistance in dying (MAiD) process, from keeping MAiD a secret, to being judged and feeling guilty, the potential implications of these are less understood. This study's aim was to examine guilt, judgment and secrecy as part of the MAiD experiences of family members in Canada.

Methods

We conducted a qualitative descriptive study with 1-hour semistructured interviews by telephone or video from December 2020 to December 2021. Through local and national organizations, we recruited Canadian family members with MAiD experience. A subset analysis of unexpected experiences was conducted, which identified 3 categories: guilt, judgment and secrecy. Similar code

SUBMITTER: Crumley ET 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10449018 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Jul-Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature