L. Grassi et al., Attitudes toward euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide among Italian primary care physicians, J PAIN SYMP, 17(3), 1999, pp. 188-196
Citations number
43
Categorie Soggetti
General & Internal Medicine","Neurosciences & Behavoir
The public debate about euthanasia and assisted suicide is less pronounced
in Italy than in other countries, and data about this topic are lacking: Th
e aim of this study was to investigate primary care physicians' experience
in requests for and opinions about euthanasia and/or assisted suicide for t
erminally ill patients and the relationship between attitudes and professio
nal variables. Three-hundred thirty-six general practitioners completed the
Euthanasia Questionnaire to assess attitudes toward euthanasia and/or assi
sted suicide and the Maslach Burnout Inventory to examine burnout symptoms.
The rate of requests for euthanasia or assisted suicide was low (11 % and
4.5 %, respectively). Only a minority of the physicians endorsed euthanasia
and/or assisted suicide. Agreement with the practice of euthanasia/assiste
d suicide was correlated with non-Catholic religious affiliation, inexperie
nce in treating terminally ill patients, and the burnout dimension of deper
sonalization. The fact that professional as well as individual factors (e.g
., inexperience, non-Catholic affiliation, burnout) were associated with fa
vorable attitudes toward euthanasia and/or assisted suicide underscores the
need to examine the problem as a complex phenomenon involving the dyadic p
atient-doctor relationship. J Pain Symptom Manage 1999;17:188-196. (C) U.S.
Cancer Pain Relief Committee, 1999.