Irremediable Psychiatric Suffering in The Context of Medical Assistance in Dying: A Delphi-Study.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

Patients with a psychiatric disorder are eligible to request medical assistance in dying (MAID) in a small but growing number of jurisdictions, including the Netherlands and Belgium. In Canada, MAID for mental illness will become possible in 2023. For this request to be granted, most of these jurisdictions demand that the patient is competent in her request, and that the suffering experienced is unbearable and irremediable. Especially the criterion of irremediability is challenging to establish in patients with psychiatric disorders. The aim of this research is to establish what criteria Dutch and Belgian experts agree to be necessary in characterising irremediable psychiatric suffering (IPS) in the context of MAID.

Methods

A two-round Delphi procedure among psychi

SUBMITTER: van Veen SMP 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9510999 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature