title: [Attitudes and experiences regarding physician assisted suicide : A survey among members of the German Association for Palliative Medicine].
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The need to regulate physician-assisted suicide (PAS) and organizations offering assisted suicide has been controversially debated in Germany. Before the German parliament voted on various drafts in November 2015, the German Association for Palliative Medicine surveyed its members on their attitudes and experiences regarding PAS.
  
  
  METHODS
  Items for the survey were derived from the literature and consented in a focus group.
  
  
  METHODS
  2005-2015 - PubMed: PAS [Title/Abstract] UND survey (all countries), grey literature. We invited 5152 members of the DGP to participate in the online/paper survey. Descriptive quantitative and content analytic qualitative analysis of data using SPSS and MaxQDA.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We obtained 1811 valid data sets (response rate 36.9%). 33.7% of the participants were male, 43.6% were female, and 0.4% identifed as other. Physicians accounted for 48.5% of the respondents, 17.8% nurses, other professions 14.3%, and about 20% of the data was missing socio-demographic information. More than 90% agreed that "wishes for PAS may be ambivalent" and "are rather a wish to end an unbearable situation". Of the 833 participating physicians, 56% refused participating in PAS and 74.2% had been asked to perform PAS. PAS was actually performed by 3%. Of all participating members, 56% approved of a legal ban of organizations offering assisted suicide. More than 60% of all professions agreed that PAS is not a part of palliative care.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The respondents show a broad spectrum of attitudes, only partly supporting statements of relevant bodies, such as DGP. Because many are confronted with the issue, PAS is relevant to professionals in palliative care.
authors.affiliation: Klinik für Palliativmedizin, Universitätsmedizin Göttingen, Göttingen, Deutschland. maximiliane.janksy@med.uni-goettingen.de.
authors.forename: Maximiliane
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Jansky
authors.affiliation: Klinik für Palliativmedizin, Universitätsmedizin Göttingen, Göttingen, Deutschland.|Klinik für Palliativmedizin, Universitätsklinikum Bonn, Bonn, Deutschland.
authors.forename: Birgit
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Jaspers
authors.affiliation: Klinik für Palliativmedizin, Universitätsklinikum Bonn, Bonn, Deutschland.
authors.forename: Lukas
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Radbruch
authors.affiliation: Klinik für Palliativmedizin, Universitätsmedizin Göttingen, Göttingen, Deutschland.
authors.forename: Friedemann
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Nauck
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D001293:Attitude to Death; D005065:Euthanasia / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D005858:Germany; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010166:Palliative Care / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D065126:Palliative Medicine / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D017236:Suicide, Assisted / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Medical ethics; Palliative care; Physician-assisted suicide; Survey; Wish to hasten death