title: Nurses' attitudes and beliefs toward assisted suicide in AIDS.
abstract: This report of a 1995 survey presents data regarding nurses' attitudes and beliefs about assisted suicide in AIDS. The authors surveyed 428 nurses working at facilities serving AIDS patients in the San Francisco Bay Area, using an anonymous, self-administered questionnaire. They received 215 responses (50%). There was a high level of agreement with statements that place assisted suicide in the context of humane action to relieve suffering. An AIDS diagnosis did not change respondents' attitudes toward assisted suicide, although many nurses said that the relentless suffering and specific nature of the AIDS epidemic did influence their thinking.
authors.affiliation: University of California San Francisco AIDS Program, San Francisco General Hospital, USA.
authors.forename: R J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Leiser
authors.forename: T F
authors.initials: TF
authors.lastname: Mitchell
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hahn
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Slome
authors.forename: D I
authors.initials: DI
authors.lastname: Abrams
mesh_terms: D000163:Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome / Q000451:nursing / Q000523:psychology; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D001293:Attitude to Death; D004522:Educational Status; D004993:Ethics, Nursing; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009726:Nurses / Q000523:psychology*; D012068:Religion and Medicine; D012495:San Francisco; D017236:Suicide, Assisted / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires