Sigrid Dierickx1,2, Bregje Onwuteaka-Philipsen3, Yolanda Penders4, Joachim Cohen5, Agnes van der Heide6, Milo A Puhan4, Sarah Ziegler4, Georg Bosshard7, Luc Deliens5, Kenneth Chambaere5. 1. End-of-Life Care Research Group, Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Brussels, Belgium. Sigrid.Dierickx@vub.be. 2. End-of-Life Care Research Group, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium. Sigrid.Dierickx@vub.be. 3. Department of Public and Occupational Health, Amsterdam Public Health Research Institute, VUmc Expertise Center for Palliative Care, Amsterdam University Medical Centers, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. 4. Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Prevention Institute, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland. 5. End-of-Life Care Research Group, Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Brussels, Belgium. 6. Department of Public Health, Erasmus MC, Rotterdam, The Netherlands. 7. Clinic for Geriatric Medicine, Zurich University Hospital, and Center on Aging and Mobility, University of Zurich and City Hospital Waid, Zurich, Switzerland.
Abstract
OBJECTIVES: To describe and compare euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide (EAS) practice in Flanders, Belgium (BE), the Netherlands (NL) and Switzerland (CH). METHODS: Mortality follow-back surveys among attending physicians of a random sample of death certificates. RESULTS: We studied 349 EAS deaths in BE (4.6% of all deaths), 851 in NL (4.6% of all deaths) and 65 in CH (1.4% of all deaths). People who died by EAS were mostly aged 65 or older (BE: 81%, NL: 77% and CH: 71%) and were mostly diagnosed with cancer (BE: 57% and NL: 66%). Home was the most common place of death in NL (79%), while in BE and CH, more variation was found regarding to place of death. The decision to perform EAS was more frequently discussed with a colleague physician in BE (93%) and NL (90%) than in CH (60%). CONCLUSIONS: EAS practice characteristics vary considerably in the studied countries with legal EAS. In addition to the legal context, cultural factors as well as the manner in which legislation is implemented play a role in how EAS legislation translates into practice.
OBJECTIVES: To describe and compare euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide (EAS) practice in Flanders, Belgium (BE), the Netherlands (NL) and Switzerland (CH). METHODS:Mortality follow-back surveys among attending physicians of a random sample of death certificates. RESULTS: We studied 349 EAS deaths in BE (4.6% of all deaths), 851 in NL (4.6% of all deaths) and 65 in CH (1.4% of all deaths). People who died by EAS were mostly aged 65 or older (BE: 81%, NL: 77% and CH: 71%) and were mostly diagnosed with cancer (BE: 57% and NL: 66%). Home was the most common place of death in NL (79%), while in BE and CH, more variation was found regarding to place of death. The decision to perform EAS was more frequently discussed with a colleague physician in BE (93%) and NL (90%) than in CH (60%). CONCLUSIONS:EAS practice characteristics vary considerably in the studied countries with legal EAS. In addition to the legal context, cultural factors as well as the manner in which legislation is implemented play a role in how EAS legislation translates into practice.
Entities:
Keywords:
Belgium; End-of-life decision-making; Euthanasia; Physician-assisted suicide; Switzerland; The Netherlands