Hong Kong Chinese teachers' attitudes towards life-sustaining treatment in the dying patients.
Hong Kong Med J
; 9(3): 186-91, 2003 Jun.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-12777654
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE:
To evaluate the attitudes of Hong Kong Chinese teachers towards life-sustaining treatment in the dying patients.DESIGN:
Prospective structured questionnaire survey.SETTING:
Hong Kong Institute of Education. SUBJECTS ANDMETHODS:
All teaching staff at the Hong Kong Institute of Education were sent the survey questionnaire. The questionnaire gathered demographic data, information on experience of 'life and death' decision-making, and views on life-sustaining treatment decisions. Respondents were also requested to respond to statements on life-sustaining treatment using a 5-point Likert Scale (1 representing strong disagreement and 5 representing strong agreement).RESULTS:
A total of 436 questionnaires were sent to teaching staff at the Hong Kong Institute of Education. The response rate was 27.8%. More than half (65.8%) of the respondents were aged between 30 and 49 years. There was an equal proportion of men and women among respondents. The respondents agreed with statements supporting end-of-life decisions (mean aggregate score, 3.13; standard deviation, 1.24; P<0.0001), and disagreed with statements against such decisions (mean aggregate score, 2.81; standard deviation, 1.22; P<0.0001). If the patient is competent, half of the respondents agreed that the patient alone should make the decision, while 27.2% believed that it should be a joint decision made by the patient, the family, and the doctor. Conversely, if the patient is incompetent, 52.6% agreed that it should be a joint decision made by the family and the doctor. There was strong support for advanced directives, whereby decisions in relation to life-sustaining treatment were legally recorded in advance (mean score, 3.62; P=0.0001).CONCLUSION:
The teachers in this survey appear to support the practice of withdrawing and withholding life-sustaining treatment in the dying patients when medical treatment is considered futile. Although patient autonomy in decision-making was supported by the greatest number of respondents, joint decision-making by the patient, family members, and doctors was also favoured by a substantial group. There was strong support for the use of advanced directives with respect to life-sustaining treatment.Palavras-chave
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Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Atitude
/
Docentes
/
Cuidados para Prolongar a Vida
Tipo de estudo:
Guideline
/
Observational_studies
/
Prognostic_studies
/
Qualitative_research
Limite:
Adult
/
Aged
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
/
Middle aged
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Hong Kong Med J
Assunto da revista:
MEDICINA
Ano de publicação:
2003
Tipo de documento:
Article
País de afiliação:
Hong Kong