| End-of-life decision-making: community and medical practitioners' perspectives. | |
| | |
MedLine Citation:
|
PMID: 9059434 Owner: NLM Status: MEDLINE |
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
|
OBJECTIVE: To examine current attitudes and knowledge of the community and medical practitioners in Queensland to end-of-life decisions. DESIGN: Cross-sectional survey by postal questionnaire. PARTICIPANTS: 387 general practitioners and medical specialists and 910 community members from the Queensland electoral roll. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Responses to five questions about end-of-life decision-making, and to legislative changes relating to such decisions. RESULTS: The overall response rate for medical practitioners was 67% and for community members was 53%. 78% of community members (age adjusted) and 54% of doctors thought that a doctor should comply with a patient's request to turn off a life-support system; 68% of doctors through people would still ask to have their life ended even if pain were controlled, compared with 54% of community members; 70% of community members thought the law should be changed to allow active voluntary euthanasia, compared with 33% of doctors; and 65% of community members thought that a doctor should be allowed by law to assist a terminally ill person to die, but only 36% of doctors agreed. 79% of doctors and 75% of community members agreed that people would still ask for assistance to end their lives even if optimal palliative care were freely available. CONCLUSION: Community members supported greater choice and control over end-of-life decisions, while doctors were less supportive of some of the options canvassed. In a climate of community participation in health care decisions, it is important to better understand the basis and meaning of these different views. Further detailed research is recommended. |
| | |
Authors:
|
M A Steinberg; J M Najman; C M Cartwright; S M MacDonald; G M Williams |
Related Documents
:
|
2286524 - A survey of general practitioners' attitudes to benzodiazepine overprescribing. 16440864 - The debate on no-fault compensation in the netherlands. 19675724 - Prevalence of problem-related drinking among doctors: a review on representative samples. 16935914 - Barriers to education of overseas doctors in paediatrics: a qualitative study in south ... 15300274 - Hiv/aids awareness and sexual practices among undergraduates in enugu, nigeria. 1352814 - Stomach outline visualization in gastrointestinal transit studies using scintigraphy. |
Publication Detail:
|
Type: Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't |
Journal Detail:
|
Title: The Medical journal of Australia Volume: 166 ISSN: 0025-729X ISO Abbreviation: Med. J. Aust. Publication Date: 1997 Feb |
Date Detail:
|
Created Date: 1997-03-27 Completed Date: 1997-03-27 Revised Date: 2006-11-15 |
Medline Journal Info:
|
Nlm Unique ID: 0400714 Medline TA: Med J Aust Country: AUSTRALIA |
Other Details:
|
Languages: eng Pagination: 131-5 Citation Subset: E; IM |
Affiliation:
|
Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, University of Queensland, Herston. |
Export Citation:
|
APA/MLA Format Download EndNote Download BibTex |
| MeSH Terms | |
Descriptor/Qualifier:
|
Adolescent Adult Aged Aged, 80 and over Attitude of Health Personnel* Australia Cross-Sectional Studies Decision Making Euthanasia / legislation & jurisprudence, statistics & numerical data Female Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice* Humans Life Support Care / statistics & numerical data Male Middle Aged Palliative Care / statistics & numerical data Physicians* Physicians, Women Questionnaires Random Allocation Suicide, Assisted / statistics & numerical data Terminal Care / statistics & numerical data* |
From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine
Previous Document: Hepatitis B and C in New South Wales prisons: prevalence and risk factors.
Next Document: Hyponatraemia and death after "ecstasy" ingestion.