Journal of palliative medicine
-
Physician-assisted dying (PAD) is legal in several countries in Europe and some states of the United States. Despite regular societal debate in New Zealand about assisted dying, little is known about what the New Zealand public think about this issue. The present study was the first to examine New Zealanders' attitudes toward assisted dying in the context of various parameters of patient suffering, and as a public policy issue. ⋯ The results have highlighted the high value respondents place on patient autonomy with regards to end-of-life choices; however the choice to hasten death is not a 'right' that should be available to all. RESULTS have clearly shown that New Zealanders believe regulation will play a key role in maintaining compliance with any assisted dying legislation, and in restricting access, so that only patients who are suffering intolerably and hopelessly are able to legally gain medical assistance to end their life.
-
When counseling surrogates of massively injured elderly trauma patients, the prognostic information they desire is rarely evidence based. ⋯ ISS and preinjury comorbidities alone cannot be used to predict futility in massively injured elderly trauma patients. Future attempts to predict futility in these age groups may benefit from incorporating measures of physiologic distress.