Providing medically assisted dying in Canada: a qualitative study of emotional and moral impact.

PURPOSE: Medical assistance in dying (MAiD) in Canada places the medical provider at the centre of the process. The MAiD provider holds primary responsibility for determining eligibility and becomes acquainted with patients' inner desires and expressions of suffering. This is followed by the MAiD procedure of administering the lethal agent and being present at the death of eligible patients. We report participants' perceptions of the emotional and moral impacts of this role. METHODOLOGY: Two years after MAiD was legalised in Canada, 22 early-adopting physician providers were interviewed. Data were examined using both phenomenological analysis and a novel ChatGPT-enhanced analysis of an anonymised subset of interview excerpts. FINDINGS: Participants described MAiD as emotionally provocative with both challenges and rewards. Providers expressed a positive moral impact when helping to optimise a patient's autonomy and moral comfort with their role in relieving suffering. Providers experienced tensions around professional duty and balancing self with service to others. Personal choice and patient gratitude enhanced the provider experience, while uncertainty and conflict added difficulty. CONCLUSIONS: Participants described MAiD provision as strongly aligned with a patient-centred ethos of practice. This study suggests that, despite challenges, providing MAiD can be a meaningful and satisfying practice for physicians. Understanding the emotional and moral impact and factors that enhance or detract from the providers' experience allows future stakeholders to design and regulate assisted dying in ways congruent with the interests of patients, providers, families and society.

Moral economy and moral capital: A new approach to understanding health systems.

Healthcare systems can be considered moral economies in which moral capital in the form of expectations toward norms, values, and virtues are exchanged and traded. Moral capital, as a concept, is an extension of Bourdieu's forms of symbolic, and in particular, cultural capital. This research set out to identify forms of moral capital evident in the accounts of health professionals and patients within the distinctive healthcare systems of Germany, New Zealand, and the Unites States. Here, we provide an overview of 15 forms of moral capital that were identified. An important form of moral capital is equality. The global coronavirus pandemic has illuminated inequalities in healthcare systems across the world. We suggest considering moral capital as a useful tool to reform healthcare systems and make the provision of healthcare a more equitable enterprise.

It's a family affair: Confucian familist philosophy's potential to improve mental health care for ethnic Chinese in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Many ethnic groups traditionally value familism, which emphasises interdependence and the extended family unit. However, Aotearoa New Zealand's health system remains largely individual-oriented, with the implementation of family-centred care remaining inconsistent. This is known to have negative effects on Maori healthcare experiences and outcomes. Our research, exploring the experiences of ethnic Chinese using mental health services in Aotearoa New Zealand, indicated that this could also be a barrier for ethnic Chinese, who have similarly strong cultural links to familism, accessing mental health care. To balance the cultural importance of family involvement with the protection of individual patient autonomy, we propose a moderate Confucian familist approach, encouraging family involvement and participation in individual patients' care, with patients' consent. The approach acknowledges individual patients as interconnected members of a wider family unit, emphasising their reciprocal, mutual responsibility in maintaining a well-functioning, harmonious family. We highlight Whanau Ora as a potential exemplar for a culturally grounded, family-centred approach to mental health care which could be feasibly implemented and deliver positive outcomes. Parallels between Maori and ethnic Chinese cultural views around whanau, community, and collectivism suggest a Kaupapa Maori approach could also be beneficial to Aotearoa New Zealand's ethnic Chinese populations. However, ethnic Chinese lack the specific legal obligations empowering the implementation of interventions such as Whanau Ora. This is an obstacle which remains to be addressed before mental health services which are sensitive to the needs of ethnic Chinese or of other ethnicities can be effectively implemented.

Lessons learnt from the implementation of new models of care delivery through alliance governance in the Southern health region of New Zealand: a qualitative study.

OBJECTIVES: To explore the process of implementation of the primary and community care strategy (new models of care delivery) through alliance governance in the Southern health region of New Zealand (NZ). DESIGN: Qualitative semistructured interviews were undertaken. A framework-guided rapid analysis was conducted, informed by implementation science theory-the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research. SETTING: Southern health region of NZ (Otago and Southland). PARTICIPANTS: Eleven key informants (Alliance Leadership Team members and senior health professionals) who were involved in the development and/or implementation of the strategy. RESULTS: The large number of strategy action plans and interdependencies of activities made implementation of the strategy complex. In the inner setting, communication and relationships between individuals and organisations were identified as an important factor for joint and integrated working. Key elements of a positive implementation climate were not adequately addressed to better align the interests of health providers, and there were multiple competing priorities for the project leaders. A perceived low level of commitment from the leadership of both organisations to joint working and resourcing indicated poor organisational readiness. Gaps in the implementation process included no detailed implementation plan (reflected in poor execution), ambitious targets, the lack of a clear performance measurement framework and an inadequate feedback mechanism. CONCLUSIONS: This study identified factors for the successful implementation of the PCSS using an alliancing approach in Southern NZ. A key enabler is the presence of a stable and committed senior leadership team working through high trust relationships and open communication across all partner organisations. With alliances, partnerships and networks increasingly held up as models for integration, this evaluation identifies important lessons for policy makers, managers and services providers both in NZ and internationally.

Estimating the prevalence of drawing in clinical practice among kiwi doctors.

Drawing has played a key role in the development and dissemination of Medicine and Surgery, such as to share anatomy, pathology, and techniques for clinical interventions. While many of the visuals used in medicine today are created by medical illustration professionals, and by imaging techniques such as photography and radiography; many doctors continue to draw routinely in their clinical practice. This is known to be valued by patients, for example when making informed decisions about care. We surveyed doctors in New Zealand online regarding their use of drawing to explore the prevalence of this practice. 472 complete responses were obtained over 3 months. There were very high rates of drawing among responding doctors practicing in both medical and surgical specialties. Reasons for drawing are explored and included professional, collegial, and patient communication, supporting informed consent, clinical documentation, and for planning procedures. Widespread use of drawing in clinical practice, almost non-existent training or support for this in digital workflows, and high interest in resources to develop clinical drawing skills, suggest unmet training needs for this practical clinical communication tool.

Winging it: a qualitative study of knowledge-acquisition experiences for early adopting providers of medical assistance in dying.

Background: Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID) was legalized in Canada without a designated period for implementation. Providers did not have access to customary alternatives for training and mentorship during the first 1-3 years after legalization. Objective: To report on how doctors prepared for their first provision of MAID in the early period after legalization in Canada. Design: Qualitative research design within an interpretive phenomenological theoretical framework. We asked participants to describe their experiences preparing for first MAID provision. Analysis of transcripts elicited themes regarding training and information desired by early adopters for provision of newly legalized MAID. Participants: Twenty-one early adopting physician-providers in five Canadian provinces were interviewed. Results: Few formal training opportunities were available. Many early-adopting providers learned about the procedure from novel sources using innovative methods. They employed a variety of strategies to meet their needs, including self-training and organizing provider education groups. They acknowledged and reflected on uncertainty and knowledge gained from unexpected experiences and missteps. Key phrases from participants indicated a desire for early training and mentorship. Limitations: This study included only the perspective of physicians who were providers of MAID. It does not address the training needs for all health practitioners who receive requests for assisted death nor report the patient/family experience. Conclusion: The Canadian experience demonstrates the importance of establishing accessible guidance and training opportunities for providers at the outset of implementation of newly legalized assisted dying.

"There is a huge need, and it's growing endlessly": perspectives of mental health service providers to ethnic Chinese in Aotearoa New Zealand.

AIM: Little is known about the experiences of ethnic Chinese accessing mental health services in Aotearoa New Zealand, resulting in uncertainty around their service preferences, and facilitators or barriers to their mental health help-seeking. This paper investigated the experiences of providers of specific mental health services for ethnic Chinese in Aotearoa, their opinions regarding their patients' experience, and their suggestions to improve the system. METHOD: Sixteen health professionals with experience and expertise delivering mental health services for ethnic Chinese were interviewed at 12 organisations across Aotearoa. Interviews were recorded, transcribed and analysed using general inductive methods and thematic analysis. RESULTS: Practitioners' experiences revolved heavily around cultural brokerage, which is vital for culturally appropriate care, but this is time-consuming and receives little formal support. Practitioners thought the patient experience was inadequate, with a lack of language- and culturally appropriate services leading to delays in help-seeking. Practitioners' suggestions for system improvement included increasing resourcing for research, and for expanding the availability of language and culturally appropriate services. CONCLUSION: Current mental health service provision is inadequate for ethnic Chinese seeking help in Aotearoa, and is causing harm by delaying mental health help-seeking. Decisive Government leadership and deeper collaboration between non-Government organisations (NGOs) will be key to improving mental health service accessibility and outcomes.

The discursive context of medical aid in dying: A paradox of control?

Individual agency is central to late modern and neoliberal concepts of the self and notions of a good death. Assisted dying can be understood as a reflection of these ideas in that control over death resides with the individual. The aim of this article is to explore individual agency and control and employ concepts of biopower and freedom to illustrate the paradoxes inherent within assisted dying. Assisted dying is currently of wide interest due to legislative change. At the time of research, the New Zealand Parliament was passing the End of Life Choice Act, yet there had been no research with people approaching the end of life about assisted dying. Through the media we recruited and interviewed 14 people approaching the end of life who would have considered choosing assisted dying if it were available to them. Interviews were analyzed using an immersion/crystallization thematic analysis. Assisted dying appealed to participants because it offered control. This article examines the discursive context of control as well as the participants' perception of control to offer insights into how paradoxically, a medical regime of assisted dying reinforces health professionals as in control of the circumstances of dying. We argue that although legalized medical assisted dying is highly regulated and monitored, thus limiting freedom, the option of assisted dying also increases freedom for the dying person. Within this paradox of control, there is still scope for choice and an ethical making of the self, although limited by the biopolitical regime, that equates to a degree of freedom for participants.

Because it was new: Unexpected experiences of physician providers during Canada's early years of legal medical assistance in dying.

Implementing newly legalized euthanasia or assisted dying presents challenges. The procedure is high-stakes and irreversible and the context is controversial and associated with high emotions and strong opinions. This qualitative study reports unexpected experiences of twenty-one medical doctors who provided Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID) in the first years after legalization in Canada. The phrase 'because it was new' occurred multiple times as doctors attributed unanticipated experiences to the lack of individual and collective experience or knowledge. Positively viewed surprises included increased awareness of palliative care and an unexpected personal sense of fulfillment from helping others. Negative surprises were attributed multiple factors including ambiguously phrased legislation, systems issues and individual inexperience. Participants described issues such as technical difficulties around provision, provider anxiety, logistical snags and inability to adequately counsel and guide families. Participants expressed desire for more guidance, mentoring, training, and team communication. This article draws on phenomenological analysis of data to present providers' accounts of their experiences in the Canadian context. This will assist new providers and jurisdictions in anticipating and preparing for circumstances that were unexpected for the first cohort.

Successful Psychological Strategies of Experienced Chronic Fatigue Patients: A Qualitative Study.

Trying to care for patients with medically unexplained symptoms (MUS) can lead to frustration and disappointment for both patients and health care professionals alike. Learning positive ways to assist patients avoids professionals collapsing into therapeutic nihilism. We sought to understand how people with such symptoms can live well despite (or even because of) their condition. Chronic fatigue was chosen as the exemplar symptom. Participants were invited to join the research if they, themselves, considered they were living well with this symptom. One-on-one interviews using an appreciative enquiry approach were performed and thematic analysis undertaken. Twelve participants were interviewed before data saturation occurred. The emotional stance or relationship a participant had with, and towards, their illness was the primary determinant underlying their interpretation of "living well." Five major themes of this meta-theme were identified: (1) engaging with elusiveness, (2) befriending uncertainty, (3) reflecting on self, (4) living creatively, and (5) moving in stillness. Encouraging patients who are struggling with MUS to consider how they emotionally engage with their illness via these 5 positive dynamics may lead to better health outcomes for patients and happier, more fulfilled health care professionals.

What do they get out of it? Considering a partnership model in health service research.

A research study to evaluate the implementation of a long-term conditions model of care provoked questions regarding the potential impact of the researcher's role in health service research. Traditional methods of qualitative interviewing require researchers to be a disembodied presence, objective, and free from bias. When health service research is conducted by health professionals, role conflict may occur if the topic is one they have expertise in, and therefore the ability to provide guidance or information. An alternative perspective to the idea of an independent and objective researcher is the notion of a partnership. In this research collaboration, participants utilised the interview process to reflect and explore different perspectives, and the researcher bracketed their own participation in the phenomenon being studied. Reflexivity was utilised by both participants and the interviewer to ensure transparency and thus bridge the gap between subjectivity and objectivity in qualitative health service research interviewing.

'There is no sick leave at the university': how sick leave constructs the good employee.

This paper examines the role of sick leave in constructing the identity of a good worker. The setting is a public funded New Zealand university. Within a qualitative research design, interviews were conducted with a range of employees and managers about their use and management of sick leave. Sick leave entitlements, use, and management encompass moral discourses that impact upon worker identity. Normalising discourses generated by compliance to bureaucratic demands and norms of productivity and performance in the neoliberalised workplace are constitutive to the construct of the good employee as reflected by the appropriate use and recording of sick leave. Conversely, the respectful, authentic, compliant and productive worker is constitutive of its opposite - the difficult employee. The construct of the difficult employee positions conformity and self-management of sick leave as strong moral imperatives. Managers were generally supportive of workers' efforts to self-manage sick leave with consideration for university commitments and were flexible around work hours, but this would in turn position them as deviant to institutional pathways of managing sick leave, with tensions between humanistic and authoritarian management.

The people speak: social media on euthanasia/assisted dying.

In New Zealand, aiding and abetting a person to commit suicide or euthanasia even with consent is unlawful. The introduction of a third Bill on assisted dying to the House of Representatives following a high-profile court case afforded an opportunity for examining how assisted dying was discussed in the public sphere. In this article, we report on a discourse analysis of a selection of social media to illustrate the ways in which citizens participate in the voluntary euthanasia debate. The volume of social media posts that made up our data set suggests that the legalisation of assisted dying is a highly topical and deeply salient societal issue. Social media postings represent the voices of ordinary citizens who may not participate in formal public consultation processes. Based on our analysis, the assignment of binary conclusions about public opinion is simplistic and fails to adequately represent the intricacies of public debate. Contributors' posts reveal deeply held sociocultural values, as well as tensions about the relationship between citizens and the apparatus of government.

Patients' views on end-of-life practices that hasten death: a qualitative study exploring ethical distinctions.

BACKGROUND: Assisted dying (AD) is currently of wide interest due to legislative change. Its relationship to other end-of-life practices such as palliative sedation (PS) is the subject of ongoing debate. The aim of this article is to describe the perspectives of a group of New Zealanders with life-limiting illness, who want or would consider AD, on the provision of end of life services, including assisted death, withdrawal of lifeprolonging treatment and symptom management with opioids or PS. METHODS: We recruited 14 people with life-limiting illness and life expectancy of less than a year. Their mean age was 61 (range, 34-82) years and half were enrolled in Hospice. An additional six family members were also interviewed and included in analysis. We asked them about why they would consider AD if it was available. Interview transcripts were inductively analyzed consistent with thematic analysis. We compared the findings to prevailing ethical frameworks. RESULTS: Most of the participants viewed current palliative care practices, such as pain relief with opioids and symptom management with PS, as hastening death, in contrast to some medical research which concludes that proportional therapeutic doses do not hasten death. Some participants did not agree with the 'doctrine of double effect' ('DDE') and saw such practices as 'slow euthanasia' and 'covert euthanasia'. They implied such practices were performed without patient consent, though they did not conceive of this as murder. Participants asserted that active and passive practices for ending life were morally equivalent, and preferred to choose the time of death over other legal means for death. CONCLUSIONS: This article contributes to what is known about how patients perceive end-of-life practices that potentially hasten death. There is a divide in what medical ethics and most health professionals and what some patients consider active hastening death. Participants' perspective was consistent with a consequentialist framework whereas deontology often guides medical ethics at the end of life. Participants' challenge to the interpretation of legal end-of-life practices as AD represents an epistemic contest to the foundation of medical knowledge, authority and ethics and therefore carries implications for preferences in care, communication and palliative care practice.

Medical student learner neglect in the clinical learning environment: Applying Glaser's theoretical model.

INTRODUCTION: Learner neglect is a relatively new concept in education, and no suitable framework for its exploration has been devised. The aim of this study was to determine whether an existing framework, Glaser's framework of child neglect, could be applied to learner neglect in clinical learning environments. This was a retrospective analysis of data obtained as part of a related study. METHOD: Six focus groups were conducted with medical students in their early clinical years to explore their views of what experiences in medical education were challenging and why they presented a challenge. The transcript data were analysed using inductive content analysis, within an interpretivist approach in the development of categories. The identified categories were cross referenced with Glaser's framework categories replacing the carer with the teacher and the child with the learner. RESULTS: Glaser's classifications of teacher (parent) behaviours were all identified in the negative aspects of medical learner clinical education including emotional unavailability/unresponsiveness, acting in a hostile manner, inappropriate inconsistent developmental interaction, failure to recognise individuality and failure to promote social adaption. Physical unavailability was identified as an additional category and is included in our proposed framework of learner neglect. DISCUSSION: Adapting Glaser's framework was useful in considering learner neglect. Medical schools have a role in ensuring learning experiences are positive across contexts and to make explicit to teachers any behaviours that may appear as learner neglect. Applying this framework has the potential to make more explicit any subtle undermining teacher behaviours. Once explicit, there is a greater likelihood that behaviours may be reappraised both by the teacher and learner and modified to promote a more effective clinical learning experience.

Exploring the value of social network 'care maps' in the provision of long-term conditions care.

OBJECTIVES: There is renewed attention to the role of social networks as part of person-centred long-term conditions care. We sought to explore the benefits of 'care maps' - a patient-identified social network map of their care community - for health professionals in providing person-centred care. METHODS: We piloted care maps with 39 patients with long-term conditions in three urban and one rural general practice and two hospital wards. We interviewed the health professionals (n = 39) of these patients about what value, if any, care maps added to patient care. We analysed health professional interview data using thematic analysis to identify common themes. RESULTS: Health professionals all said they learned about their patients as a person-in-context. There was an increased understanding of patients' support networks, synthesising what is known and unknown. Health professionals understood patients' perceptions of health professionals and what really mattered to patients. There was discussion about the therapeutic value of care maps. The maps prompted reflection on practice. DISCUSSION: Care maps facilitated a broader focus than the clinical presentation. Using care maps may enable health professionals to support self-management rather than feeling responsible for many aspects of care. Care maps had 'social function' for health professionals. They may be a valuable tool for patients and clinicians to bridge the gap between medical treatment and patients' lifeworlds.

What is the answer to the challenge of multimorbidity in New Zealand?

The increasing prevalence of multimorbidity, a growing ageing population and lack of success in addressing the negative effect of socioeconomic and cultural determinants of health are major challenges for New Zealand's primary care sector. Self-management support strategies, personalised care planning, integrated care and shared health records have all been proposed as mechanisms to address these challenges. The organisation of the health system, however, remains largely unchanged, with limited accommodation and few funding concessions made for the requirements of these different approaches and tools. As a result, the primary care system is no longer a good match for the population it serves. With one in four New Zealanders reporting multimorbidity, and people aged >65 years predicted to double in number by 2050, this article argues that over the next decade, New Zealand requires a health system focused on incorporating self-management support, personalised and integrated care and shared health records. This will require further educating of not only health professionals, but also patients in the purpose behind these approaches. In addition, it will mean transitioning to a primary care system more suited to the needs of people with long-term conditions. The key gain from a radical redesign will be a more equitable health system focused on a broader range of health needs.

A citizens' jury on euthanasia/assisted dying: Does informed deliberation change people's views?

Euthanasia or assisted dying (EAD) remains a highly contentious issue internationally. Although polls report that a majority New Zealanders support EAD, there are concerns about the framing of the polling questions, and that those responding to the questions do not know enough about the situations described, the options available and the potential implications of EAD policy. One way to address these concerns is through a citizens' jury, which is a method of learning how a group of people view an issue following informed deliberation. This citizens' jury was conducted to learn whether a group of 15 New Zealanders thought the law should be changed to allow some form of EAD and the reasons for their view, having been informed about the issue, heard arguments for and against, and having deliberated together. The jury met for two and a half days. They did not reach a consensus, but become polarized in their positions, with several changing their positions to either strong opposition or strong support. The reasons why people support or oppose EAD were not reducible to particular principles or arguments, but reflected an integrated assessment of a range of considerations, informed by personal priorities and experiences. These results suggest that views on EAD may change in response to informed deliberation that the EAD debate involves a range of value judgments and is not likely to be resolved through deliberation alone. These results may inform international debate on EAD policy.

Providing care to refugees through mainstream general practice in the southern health region of New Zealand: a qualitative study of primary healthcare professionals' perspectives.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the perspectives of primary healthcare (PHC) professionals providing care to refugees through mainstream general practice. DESIGN: Qualitative exploratory design with semistructured interviews subjected to inductive thematic analysis. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: Nine general practices enrolled in the Dunedin Refugee Resettlement Programme, in New Zealand (NZ)'s southern health region. Participants included nine general practitioners and six practice nurses. RESULTS: Three analytical constructs were identified: relational engagement with refugees, refugee healthcare delivery and providers' professional role shaped by complexity. Building meaningful relational connections involved acknowledging refugees' journeys by getting to know them as people. This was instrumental for the development of an empathetic understanding of the complex human trajectories that characterise refugees' journeys to NZ. Participants encountered challenges in providing care to refugees with respect to time-limited consultations, variable use of interpreter services, fragmentation of care between agencies and need for improved health infrastructure to ensure a fluid interface between PHC, secondary care and community support services. The current business model of NZ general practice was perceived to interfere with value-driven care and discouraged tailoring of care to specific patient groups, raising concerns about the 'fit' of mainstream general practice to address the complex healthcare needs of refugees. Meeting the needs of refugees across the social determinants of health involved a lot of 'behind the scenes work' particularly in the absence of shared information systems and the lack of well-established referral pathways to connect refugees to services beyond the health sector. This led to providers feeling overwhelmed and uncertain about their ability to provide appropriate care to refugees. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides rich context-specific findings that enhance PHC responsiveness to the needs of refugees in NZ.