The acceptability of ending a patient's life.

ABSTRACT:

Objectives

To clarify how lay people and health professionals judge the acceptability of ending the life of a terminally ill patient.

Design

Participants judged this acceptability in a set of 16 scenarios that combined four factors: the identity of the actor (patient or physician), the patient's statement or not of a desire to have his life ended, the nature of the action as relatively active (injecting a toxin) or passive (disconnecting life support), and the type of suffering (intractable physical pain, complete dependence, or severe psychiatric illness).

Participants

115 lay people and 72 health professionals (22 nurse's aides, 44 nurses, six physicians) in Toulouse, France.

Main measurements

Mean acceptability ratings for each scenario for each group.

Re

SUBMITTER: Guedj M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC1734167 | biostudies-literature | 2005 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature