Would physician-assisted suicide jeopardize trust in the medical services? An empirical study of attitudes among the general public in Sweden

Aim: To investigate the attitudes among the Swedish population towards physician-assisted suicide, with special regard to the possible effects on trust in the medical services of physician-assisted suicide being allowed. Design: A postal questionnaire about physician-assisted suicide under certain c...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Scandinavian journal of public health 2009-05, Vol.37 (3), p.260-264
Main Authors: LINDBLAD, ANNA, LÖFMARK, RURIK, LYNÖE, NIELS
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adult
Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Assisted suicide
Attitude of Health Personnel
Attitudes
Biological and medical sciences
Ethics
Euthanasia
Female
Health participants
Health services
Humans
Lay people
Male
Medical personnel
Medical sciences
Medical service
Medical services
Medicin och hälsovetenskap
Middle Aged
Miscellaneous
Original articles
Personal Autonomy
Physicians
Physicians - psychology
Public health. Hygiene
Public health. Hygiene-occupational medicine
Public Opinion
Questionnaires
Suicide
Suicide, Assisted - ethics
Suicide, Assisted - psychology
Surveys and Questionnaires
Sweden
Trust
Trust - psychology
Young Adult
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Summary:Aim: To investigate the attitudes among the Swedish population towards physician-assisted suicide, with special regard to the possible effects on trust in the medical services of physician-assisted suicide being allowed. Design: A postal questionnaire about physician-assisted suicide under certain conditions and its possible influence on trust in the medical services was distributed to 1206 randomly selected individuals living in the county of Stockholm. Two reminders were distributed, followed by a short version of the questionnaire containing only the question about the attitude towards physician-assisted suicide. Results: The total response rate was 51%, a short-version reminder adding another 7%. Of all participants, 73% were in favour of physician-assisted suicide, 12% were against, and 15% were undecided. They believed that their trust in the medical services would increase (38%) or not be influenced at all (45%) if physician-assisted suicide were to be allowed. However, 75% of those who were against physician-assisted suicide believed that their trust would decrease. As compared to those reporting high trust in medical services (n = 492), those with low trust (n = 97) stated that their trust would increase, 36% (confidence interval (CI) = 35-37%) vs. 49% (95% CI = 39-59%). Thirty-three per cent (95% CI = 28-38%) of the younger respondents (
ISSN:1403-4948
1651-1905
DOI:10.1177/1403494808098918