Attitudes of Quebec doctors toward sedation at the end of life: an exploratory study.
OBJECTIVE
The induction of sedation at the end of life is a much debated practice and not very documented. The goal of this study was to explore the practice from both a clinical and ethical point of view.


METHODS
Data were collected through semistructured interviews with 19 Quebec physicians working in palliative care.


RESULTS
Doctors' first priority was their patients, not patients' families. Clinically, the therapeutic aim of sedation was strictly to relieve suffering on the part of the patient. Ethically, getting the patient's consent was imperative. The family's consent was only required in cases of incapacity. Generally, sedation and euthanasia were seen as two distinct practices.


CONCLUSIONS
There are still very few guidelines regarding end-of-life sedation in Québec, and its normative framework is more implicit than explicit. It should be noted that most of the respondents regarded sedation and euthanasia as two distinct practices.
Faculty of Nursing, Pavillon Ferdinand-Vandry, Université Laval, Québec, Canada. Danielle.Blondeau@fsi.ulaval.ca
Danielle
D
Blondeau
Serge
S
Dumont
Louis
L
Roy
Isabelle
I
Martineau
D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D001364:Awareness; D016292:Procedural Sedation / Q000941:ethics / Q000523:psychology*; D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D003657:Decision Making / Q000941:ethics; D004992:Ethics, Medical; D006801:Humans; D007258:Informed Consent / Q000941:ethics / Q000523:psychology; D033183:Interdisciplinary Communication; D010166:Palliative Care / Q000941:ethics / Q000523:psychology*; D010348:Patient Care Team / Q000941:ethics; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations / Q000941:ethics; D011368:Professional-Family Relations / Q000941:ethics; D011792:Quebec; D013727:Terminal Care / Q000941:ethics / Q000523:psychology*