[Views of Icelandic physicians and nurses towards limitation of treatment at the end of life.].
With increasingly advanced life-prolonging technology, the issue of when and how treatment should be limited becomes ever more important. To shed a light on the views of Icelandic physicians and registered nurses a survey was conducted at the Reykjavik Hospital and the National University Hospital. A questionnaire was sent to 184 doctors and 239 nurses. They were asked to respond to several ethical dilemmas regarding limitation of treatment at the end of life. Special emphasis was placed on respect for the patient's autonomy and communication. There were 234 (55%) answers retrieved. The general view was that one should respect patient's autonomy and honor the wish to deny life-prolonging measures. Cost could be an issue in such decisions according to 35% of physicians and 15% of nurses. Under certain conditions, euthanasia could be justified according to five (5%) physicians and 11 (9%) nurses, although only four (2%) could consider themselves as participating in such an act. The majority, 201/230 (87%), supported using written guidelines within hospitals regarding decision-making process in limiting treatment at the end of life. In a case of a dispute between patients or families and health care professionals, 49% of physicians and 84% of nurses were willing to take it to a multidisciplinary ethical committee at the hospital. In a case of a dispute between health care professionals 62% of physicians and 50% of nurses were willing to take it to the Director General of Health.
Valsdottir
E B
EB
Jonsson
P V
PV
Arnason
V
V
Helgadottir
H
H