Morphine prescription in end-of-life care and euthanasia: French home nurses' opinions.
OBJECTIVE
This study aimed to investigate factors that might lead French homecare nurses to consider the prescription of high-dose morphine to terminally ill patients to be euthanasia.


METHODS
The researchers conducted an anonymous telephone survey among a random sample of 602 French homecare nurses (response rate = 75 percent) in 2005.


RESULTS
Overall, 27 percent of responding home nurses considered prescribing high-dose morphine to terminally ill patients to be euthanasia. Such an opinion was more frequently held by older nurses, those who had not followed terminally ill patients during the previous three years, and those with less knowledge about pain management involving opioid analgesics.


CONCLUSIONS
There is an urgent need to strengthen pain management education among French homecare nurses--especially regarding the use of morphine--in order to both improve their technical skills and correct some misconceptions about opioid analgesics.
Bendiane
Marc Karim
MK
Southeastern Health Regional Observatory, (ORS-PACA), Marseilles, France.
Bouhnik
Anne-Deborah
AD
Favre
Roger
R
Galinier
Anne
A
Obadia
Yolande
Y
Moatti
Jean-Paul
JP
Peretti-Watel
Patrick
P
D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D002983:Clinical Competence; D003152:Community Health Nursing / Q000193:education*; D004509:Education, Nursing, Continuing; D005065:Euthanasia / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D005602:France; D006699:Home Care Services / Q000941:ethics*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009020:Morphine / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D010166:Palliative Care / Q000941:ethics*; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians'; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013727:Terminal Care / Q000941:ethics*
D009020:Morphine