Determinants of the willingness to endorse assisted suicide. A survey of physicians, nurses, and social workers.
The authors surveyed 1,137 physicians, nurses, and social workers (overall response = 48%) to characterize the willingness to endorse assisted suicide. Willingness to endorse varied among disciplines and was negatively correlated with level of religious belief (r = -0.35, P < 0.0001), knowledge of symptom management (r = -0.21, P < 0.0001), and time managing symptoms (r = -0.21, P < 0.0001). On multivariate analysis, the significant predictors were lesser religious belief (P < 0.0001), greater concern about analgesic toxicity (P = 0.001), diminished empathy (P = 0.03), lesser knowledge of symptom management (P < 0.04), and the interaction between religious belief and knowledge of symptom management (P = 0.04). Professionals' attitudes toward assisted suicide are influenced by diverse personal attributes, among which may be competence in symptom management and burnout.
Portenoy
R K
RK
Department of Neurology, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY 10021, USA.
Coyle
N
N
Kash
K M
KM
Brescia
F
F
Scanlon
C
C
O'Hare
D
D
Misbin
R I
RI
Holland
J
J
Foley
K M
KM
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001293:Attitude to Death; D002055:Burnout, Professional; D003625:Data Collection; D033101:Euthanasia, Active, Voluntary; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009726:Nurses; D010820:Physicians; D012067:Religion; D012947:Social Work; D017236:Suicide, Assisted