End-of-life practices in palliative care: a cross sectional survey of physician members of the German Society for Palliative Medicine.
Palliat Med
; 24(8): 820-7, 2010 Dec.
Article
en En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-20819846
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES:
To elicit types and frequencies of end-of-life practices by physician members of the German Society for Palliative Medicine. To analyse associations between characteristics of physicians and patients and end-of-life practices with intended hastening of death.DESIGN:
Cross-sectional postal survey. MAIN OUTCOMEMEASURES:
Types and frequencies of end-of-life practices with foreseeable or intended hastening of patients' death. Association between end-of-life practices with hastening of death and predefined characteristics of physicians and patients.RESULTS:
Nine hundred and one physicians participated in the study (response rate 55.8%). There was alleviation of symptoms in 78.1% and limitation of medical treatment with possible life shortening in 69.1% of cases. In 10 cases medication had been administered by the physician (N = 9) or the patient (N = 1) with the intention to hasten death. Patients' best interest and avoidance of possible harm to the patient were reported as reasons for non-involvement of competent patients in decision making. Physicians with added qualification in palliative medicine significantly less frequently reported end-of-life practices with intended hastening of death (p = 0.003).CONCLUSION:
Physician members of the German Society for Palliative Medicine perform a broad spectrum of end-of-life practices including intended hastening of death. The findings on patients' non-involvement in decision making warrant further empirical-ethical analysis.
Texto completo:
1
Colección:
01-internacional
Base de datos:
MEDLINE
Asunto principal:
Cuidados Paliativos
/
Actitud del Personal de Salud
/
Eutanasia Activa
Tipo de estudio:
Prevalence_studies
/
Prognostic_studies
/
Risk_factors_studies
Aspecto:
Ethics
Límite:
Adolescent
/
Adult
/
Aged
/
Aged80
/
Child
/
Child, preschool
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Infant
/
Male
País/Región como asunto:
Europa
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Palliat Med
Asunto de la revista:
SERVICOS DE SAUDE
Año:
2010
Tipo del documento:
Article
País de afiliación:
Alemania