A systematic review of older adults' request for or attitude toward euthanasia or assisted-suicide.
Aging Ment Health
; 25(3): 420-430, 2021 03.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-31818122
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES:
Prevalence rates of death by euthanasia (EUT) and physician-assisted suicide (PAS) have increased among older adults, and public debates on these practices are still taking place. In this context, it seemed important to conduct a systematic review of the predictors (demographic, physical health, psychological, social, quality of life, religious, or existential) associated with attitudes toward, wishes and requests for, as well as death by EUT/PAS among individuals aged 60 years and over.METHOD:
The search for quantitative studies in PsycINFO and MEDLINE databases was conducted three times from February 2016 until April 2018. Articles of probable relevance (n = 327) were assessed for eligibility. Studies that only presented descriptive data (n = 306) were excluded.RESULTS:
This review identified 21 studies with predictive analyses, but in only 4 did older adults face actual end-of-life decisions. Most studies (17) investigated attitudes toward EUT/PAS (9 through hypothetical scenarios). Younger age, lower religiosity, higher education, and higher socio-economic status were the most consistent predictors of endorsement of EUT/PAS. Findings were heterogeneous with regard to physical health, psychological, and social factors. Findings were difficult to compare across studies because of the variety of sample characteristics and outcomes measures.CONCLUSION:
Future studies should adopt common and explicit definitions of EUT/PAS, as well as research designs (e.g. mixed longitudinal) that allow for better consideration of personal, social, and cultural factors, and their interplay, on EUT/PAS decisions.Palavras-chave
Texto completo:
1
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Eutanásia
/
Suicídio Assistido
Tipo de estudo:
Prognostic_studies
/
Risk_factors_studies
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Systematic_reviews
Limite:
Aged
/
Humans
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Middle aged
Idioma:
En
Ano de publicação:
2021
Tipo de documento:
Article