Dj. Doukas et al., Primary care physician attitudes and values toward end-of-life care and physician-assisted death, ETHIC BEHAV, 9(3), 1999, pp. 219-230
This study explores how primary care physician attitudes toward physician-a
ssisted death (PAD) are related to their personal values toward end-of-life
care and PAD. A group of 810 Michigan family physicians, internists, and g
eneral practitioners, divided into 4 typology groups by their intention tow
ard participating in PAD, rated their attitudes toward PAD, along with thei
r values and preferences for their own end-of-life care. Respondents who mo
st objected to PAD were less likely to have executed an advance directive a
nd more likely to have values promoting continued life-sustaining treatment
in their own terminal care. Furthermore, a significant number of physician
s, who had strong values against their own withdrawal of treatment in termi
nal care, were opposed to the withdrawing or withholding of life-sustaining
treatment in patient care. Considerations of personal physician values are
relevant in the discussion of PAD and the withdrawal of treatment in termi
nal care.