title: [Euthanasia--experiences from Norwegian pain clinics].
abstract: This survey focuses on the subject of euthanasia. A questionnaire was sent to 90 doctors working in pain clinics in Norwegian hospitals. 60 doctors (67%) returned the questionnaire. Only 18 doctors (30%) had ever received a request for euthanasia. The patients who requested euthanasia suffered from refractory pain, depression, fear of pain and fear of becoming helpless. 67% of the doctors were satisfied with the present Norwegian law, while 13% favoured a liberalization of the law. Only 5% were willing to comply with the patient's request for euthanasia under today's law. One third of the doctors would leave the decision to an officially appointed "board" if euthanasia were to become legalized. A majority wanted a doctor to commit the actual procedure, but there were also suggestions that a lawyer or other lay person should carry out the act of euthanasia. Our conclusion is that the closer the patient-doctor relationship is, the more opposed the doctor is to euthanasia.
authors.affiliation: Anestesiavdelingen, Det Norske Radiumhospital, Oslo.
authors.forename: N K
authors.initials: NK
authors.lastname: Meidell
authors.forename: A C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Naess
mesh_terms: D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D001293:Attitude to Death; D005065:Euthanasia / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009664:Norway; D018710:Pain Clinics; D010148:Intractable Pain / Q000188:drug therapy; D010820:Physicians / Q000523:psychology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
vernacular_title: Eutanasi--erfaring fra norske smerteklinikker.