Citation

Starace F. Epidemiol. Psichiatr. Soc. 1998; 7(2): 135-146.

Vernacular Title

Decisioni mediche di fine vita: aspetti epidemiologici e psichiatrici.

Affiliation

CERIFARC, Assessorato alla Sanità, Regione Campania, Napoli.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1998, Il Pensiero Scientifico Editore)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

9763764

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: Despite the ongoing moral and legal debate, there is still a paucity of empirical literature on the actual occurrence of Medical Decisions at the End of Life (MDEL). Moreover, the psychiatrist's role in this scenario is still unclear. METHODS: This paper systematically reviews currently available literature on euthanasia (EU) and physician assisted suicide (PAS). Published articles were selected if they reported either: 1) prevalence estimates of patients' requests of EU/PAS; and/or 2) prevalence estimates of physicians' actual EU/PAS practices. Papers exploring the issue of MDEL-related psychiatric consultation have been also included in the review. RESULTS: The empirical evidence reported in this paper shows that EU/PAS demands and acts are not uncommon in medical practice. A conservative estimate indicates that at least 10% of physicians have granted a request of EU/PAS. The involvement of consultation-liaison psychiatrists in MDELs seems to be relatively rare. CONCLUSIONS: Euthanasia and other MDELs require physicians' thoughtful evaluation of criteria guiding professional decision-making. To this purpose, epidemiological and psychosocial research can offer a valuable contribution.

Language: it