title: Attitudes toward euthanasia of physician members of the Italian Society for Palliative Care.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The problems related to requests for euthanasia by terminal patients; the variations in attitude of palliative care physicians and the possibility that availability of the best palliative care might obviate the problem by eliminating requests for euthanasia, are under discussion.
  
  
  METHODS
  A mailed survey with no possibility of follow-up of all 685 physician members of the Italian Society for Palliative Care (SICP) in 1994.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of the 359 (52.4%) responders, 139 (39%) had received requests for euthanasia; 16 of them (4% of the responders but 11.5% of those who received requests) had complied at least once, while 216 (60%) had not; 125 (35%) thought that euthanasia was 'wrong' under all circumstances; 115 (32%) thought that situations could occur, even in the context of palliative care, in which euthanasia might be ethically 'correct'; 185 (52%) thought that the best palliative care might solve the problem of euthanasia, while 109 (30%) believed otherwise. The variable most strongly associated with a negative attitude toward euthanasia and with the opinion that the best palliative care might be a solution to the problem is religious belief (P < 0.0001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The attitudes of physicians practising palliative care in Italy are not different from those reported by previous studies which investigated the attitude of other health professionals. There was no agreement about whether the best palliative care might reduce requests for euthanasia by terminal patients.
authors.affiliation: Ethics Committee, c/o Fondazione Floriani, Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Di Mola
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Borsellino
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Brunelli
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gallucci
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gamba
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lusignani
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Regazzo
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Santosuosso
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tamburini
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Toscani
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D005065:Euthanasia; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy; D010146:Pain / Q000523:psychology; D059408:Pain Management; D010166:Palliative Care; D010820:Physicians; D012737:Sex Factors