Ethical issues regarding patient care have recently been raised in Italy by the case of Eluana Englaro, a 36-year-old woman who remained in a persistent vegetative state (PVS) for 17 years. There are no specific laws on the books in Italy regarding euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide. In November 2008, a controversial decision by the Italian Supreme Court granted the woman's father his wish to discontinue nutrition and hydration provided to her. Because of this historic decision, the authors carried out a survey of Italian physicians' beliefs regarding end-of-life practices. A questionnaire was e-mailed to 70,000 physicians working for the Italian Public Health System and University Medical Hospitals. A total of 22,219 doctors responded to the questionnaire (32.3%), of whom 17,252 (77.6%) had some experience in treating PVS patients. Nearly 70% of responding doctors were aware of PVS diagnostic criteria; most of them (61%) considered tube feeding to be a medical therapy, and 66% of respondents believed that withdrawal of assisted nutrition and hydration (ANH) might be appropriate depending on the patient's wishes. Moreover, even though 50% of doctors surveyed were not in favor of euthanasia, a significant percentage (42%) did approve of it, while 8% of this sample was uncertain. Italian doctors probably have the least experience in end-of-life decisions in Europe, therefore this national survey is a great chance to understand their authentic opinions regarding such remarkable issues. There is broad consensus that a clear legislative position regarding euthanasia and ANH is needed.

A national survey of Italian physicians' attitudes towards end-of-life decisions following the death of Eluana Englaro / Biagio, Solarino; Francesco, Bruno; Frati, Giacomo; Alessandro, Dell'Erba; Frati, Paola. - In: INTENSIVE CARE MEDICINE. - ISSN 0342-4642. - STAMPA. - 37:3(2011), pp. 542-549. [10.1007/s00134-011-2132-5]

A national survey of Italian physicians' attitudes towards end-of-life decisions following the death of Eluana Englaro

FRATI, GIACOMO;FRATI, PAOLA
2011

Abstract

Ethical issues regarding patient care have recently been raised in Italy by the case of Eluana Englaro, a 36-year-old woman who remained in a persistent vegetative state (PVS) for 17 years. There are no specific laws on the books in Italy regarding euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide. In November 2008, a controversial decision by the Italian Supreme Court granted the woman's father his wish to discontinue nutrition and hydration provided to her. Because of this historic decision, the authors carried out a survey of Italian physicians' beliefs regarding end-of-life practices. A questionnaire was e-mailed to 70,000 physicians working for the Italian Public Health System and University Medical Hospitals. A total of 22,219 doctors responded to the questionnaire (32.3%), of whom 17,252 (77.6%) had some experience in treating PVS patients. Nearly 70% of responding doctors were aware of PVS diagnostic criteria; most of them (61%) considered tube feeding to be a medical therapy, and 66% of respondents believed that withdrawal of assisted nutrition and hydration (ANH) might be appropriate depending on the patient's wishes. Moreover, even though 50% of doctors surveyed were not in favor of euthanasia, a significant percentage (42%) did approve of it, while 8% of this sample was uncertain. Italian doctors probably have the least experience in end-of-life decisions in Europe, therefore this national survey is a great chance to understand their authentic opinions regarding such remarkable issues. There is broad consensus that a clear legislative position regarding euthanasia and ANH is needed.
2011
persistent vegetative state; withholding treatment; end-of-life; decision-making; italy; advance directive; physician's role; euthanasia; ethical issues
01 Pubblicazione su rivista::01a Articolo in rivista
A national survey of Italian physicians' attitudes towards end-of-life decisions following the death of Eluana Englaro / Biagio, Solarino; Francesco, Bruno; Frati, Giacomo; Alessandro, Dell'Erba; Frati, Paola. - In: INTENSIVE CARE MEDICINE. - ISSN 0342-4642. - STAMPA. - 37:3(2011), pp. 542-549. [10.1007/s00134-011-2132-5]
File allegati a questo prodotto
Non ci sono file associati a questo prodotto.

I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.

Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11573/229910
 Attenzione

Attenzione! I dati visualizzati non sono stati sottoposti a validazione da parte dell'ateneo

Citazioni
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.pmc??? 11
  • Scopus 38
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.isi??? 27
social impact