Euthanasia and Physician-Assisted Suicide in Patients With Multiple Geriatric Syndromes.

ABSTRACT:

Importance

The Dutch Regional Euthanasia Review Committees (RTEs) reviewed and reported an increasing number of cases of euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide (EAS) requested by older people with multiple geriatric syndromes (MGS). Knowledge of the characteristics of cases of EAS for MGS is important to facilitate societal debate and to monitor EAS practice.

Objective

To examine the accumulation of patient characteristics, geriatric syndromes, and other circumstances as reported in the case summaries of the RTEs that led to unbearable suffering associated with a request for EAS and to analyze the RTEs' assessments of these cases of EAS.

Design, setting, and participants

A qualitative content analysis was conducted of all case summaries filed from January 1, 2013,

SUBMITTER: van den Berg V 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7851730 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature