Community attitudes on the family of issues surrounding the death of terminal patients.
In two studies, respondents made recommendations for the medical treatment of a terminally ill elderly woman. The woman was or was not experiencing intractable pain, and had requested either heroic medical efforts or euthanasia. Respondents' recommendations were influenced by both the specific wishes of the patient and the pain the person was experiencing. However, participants were not completely swayed by the patient's wishes: only about half of the sample recommended euthanasia even when the patient was in intractable pain and had requested death; also, many subjects would not resuscitate the patient whose heart or lungs failed, even though she had requested heroic measures. Respondent attitudes toward euthanasia predicted recommendations in the expected directions. We suggest that there is less dissent on the issues that arise for medical treatments at the end of life than has been widely assumed.
Darley
J M
JM
Psychology Department, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA. JDarley@phoenix.princeton.edu
Loeb
I
I
Hunter
J
J
D016223:Advance Directives; D000368:Aged; D001290:Attitude; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D034723:Double Effect Principle; D036262:Empirical Research; D028601:Euthanasia, Active / Q000523:psychology*; D033101:Euthanasia, Active, Voluntary / Q000523:psychology*; D005066:Euthanasia, Passive / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008020:Life Support Care / Q000523:psychology*; D010146:Pain / Q000188:drug therapy*; D010166:Palliative Care / Q000523:psychology*; D011594:Psychometrics; D011639:Public Opinion; D011640:Public Policy; D016414:Resuscitation Orders / Q000523:psychology; D017236:Suicide, Assisted / Q000523:psychology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013727:Terminal Care / Q000523:psychology*; D019452:Terminally Ill; D014481:United States