BACKGROUND: Palliative sedation is defined as deliberately lowering a patient's consciousness, to relieve intolerable suffering from refractory symptoms at the end of life. Palliative sedation is considered a last resort intervention in end-of-life care that should not be confused with euthanasia. AIM: To inform healthcare professionals about attitudes of the general public regarding palliative sedation. design and setting: A cross-sectional survey among members of the Dutch general public followed by qualitative interviews. METHOD: One thousand nine hundred and sixty members of the general public completed the questionnaire, which included a vignette describing palliative sedation (response rate 78%); 16 participants were interviewed. RESULTS: In total, 22% of the responders indicated knowing the term 'palliative sedation'. Qualitative data showed a variety of interpretations of the term. Eighty-one per cent of the responders agreed with the provision of sedatives as described in a vignette of a patient with untreatable pain and a life expectancy of <1 week who received sedatives to alleviate his suffering. This percentage was somewhat lower for a patient with a life expectancy of <1 month (74%, P = 0.007) and comparable in the case where the physician gave sedatives with the aim of ending the patient's life (79%, P = 0.54). CONCLUSION: Most of the general public accept the use of palliative sedation at the end of life, regardless of a potential life-shortening effect. However, confusion exists about what palliative sedation represents. This should be taken into account by healthcare professionals when communicating with patients and their relatives on end-of-life care options.
BACKGROUND: Palliative sedation is defined as deliberately lowering a patient's consciousness, to relieve intolerable suffering from refractory symptoms at the end of life. Palliative sedation is considered a last resort intervention in end-of-life care that should not be confused with euthanasia. AIM: To inform healthcare professionals about attitudes of the general public regarding palliative sedation. design and setting: A cross-sectional survey among members of the Dutch general public followed by qualitative interviews. METHOD: One thousand nine hundred and sixty members of the general public completed the questionnaire, which included a vignette describing palliative sedation (response rate 78%); 16 participants were interviewed. RESULTS: In total, 22% of the responders indicated knowing the term 'palliative sedation'. Qualitative data showed a variety of interpretations of the term. Eighty-one per cent of the responders agreed with the provision of sedatives as described in a vignette of a patient with untreatable pain and a life expectancy of <1 week who received sedatives to alleviate his suffering. This percentage was somewhat lower for a patient with a life expectancy of <1 month (74%, P = 0.007) and comparable in the case where the physician gave sedatives with the aim of ending the patient's life (79%, P = 0.54). CONCLUSION: Most of the general public accept the use of palliative sedation at the end of life, regardless of a potential life-shortening effect. However, confusion exists about what palliative sedation represents. This should be taken into account by healthcare professionals when communicating with patients and their relatives on end-of-life care options.
Authors: Judith A C Rietjens; Agnes van der Heide; Bregje D Onwuteaka-Philipsen; Paul J van der Maas; Gerrit van der Wal Journal: Palliat Med Date: 2006-10 Impact factor: 4.762
Authors: Elsbeth Voogt; Agnes van der Heide; Judith A C Rietjens; Anna F van Leeuwen; Adriaan P Visser; Carin C D van der Rijt; Paul J van der Maas Journal: J Clin Oncol Date: 2005-03-20 Impact factor: 44.544
Authors: Lucas M Bachmann; Andrea Mühleisen; Annekatrin Bock; Gerben ter Riet; Ulrike Held; Alfons G H Kessels Journal: BMC Med Res Methodol Date: 2008-07-30 Impact factor: 4.615