Determinants of acceptance of end-of-life interventions: a comparison between withdrawing life-prolonging treatment and euthanasia in Austria

BMC Medical Ethics

Wolfgang Freidl¹  Éva Rásky¹  Hannes Mayerl¹  Franziska Großschädl²  Erwin Stolz¹ 

[1] Institute of Social Medicine and Epidemiology,Medical University of Graz, Universitätsstrasse 6/I, Graz 8010, Austria;Institute of Nursing Science, Medical University of Graz, Billrothgasse 6, Graz 8010, Austria

关键词: Determinants;    Acceptance;    Euthanasia;    Withdrawal of life-prolonging treatment;   

Others  :  1234644
DOI  :  10.1186/s12910-015-0076-y

 received in 2015-05-13, accepted in 2015-11-22,  发布年份 2015

【 摘 要 】

Background

End-of-life decisions remain a hotly debated issue in many European countries and the acceptance in the general population can act as an important anchor point in these discussions. Previous studies on determinants of the acceptance of end-of-life interventions in the general population have not systematically assessed whether determinants differ between withdrawal of life-prolonging treatment (WLPT) and euthanasia (EUT).

Methods

A large, representative survey of the Austrian adult population conducted in 2014 (n = 1,971) included items on WLPT and EUT. We constructed the following categorical outcome: (1) rejection of both WLPT and EUT, (2) approval of WLPT but rejection of EUT, and (3) approval of both WLPT and EUT. The influence of socio-demographics, personal experiences, and religious and socio-cultural orientations on the three levels of approval were assessed via multinomial logistic regression analysis.

Results

Higher education and stronger socio-cultural liberal orientations increased the likelihood of approving both WLPT and EUT; personal experience with end-of-life care increased only the likelihood of approval of WLPT; and religiosity decreased approval of EUT only.

Conclusion

This study found evidence for both shared (education, liberalism) and different (religiosity, care experiences) determinants for the acceptance of WLPT and EUT.

【 授权许可】

   
2015 Stolz et al.

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