Evaluation of Knowledge and Attitudes toward Euthanasia between Physicians and Caregivers

Authors

  • Sukhbaatar Chuluunsukh Forensic Agency of Mongolia, Department of Forensic Medicine, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9070-8456
  • Minjuur Tserenbat School of Bio-Medicine, 2 Mongolian National University of Medical Sciences, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
  • Enkhbat Bayarmaa School of Bio-Medicine, Mongolian National University of Medical Sciences, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
  • Tseren Tuvshinjargal School of General Education, Mongolian National University of Medical Sciences, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
  • Tseren Tuvshinjargal School of General Education, Mongolian National University of Medical Sciences, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.24079/cajms.2023.09.004

Keywords:

Active Euthanasia, Human Rights, End-Of-Life Care, Assisted Suicide, Right to Die

Abstract

Objective: This study aimed to estimate the knowledge of the legal regulation of euthanasia and painless death among terminally ill patients, their caregivers, and attending physicians. Methods: The study was conducted using an analytical survey design and evaluated by a questionnaire of the target sample group. Results: According to the patient’s age group, those under 49 were most likely to support euthanasia at 93.1%, and those over 50 were 73.3%. Furthermore, 87.5% of those who said they had financial problems, 91.7% of those who said they had long queues at the hospital, difficulty in getting medical care, 66.7% of those who said they were bedridden or had a lot of pain, and 100% of those who said they would have mental depression or other problems were in favor of euthanasia. In the physicians, 96.6% of the doctors who participated in the study said they knew about euthanasia, 100% of those who believed that euthanasia was ethical and knew the types of euthanasia, and 95% of those who thought that there were ethical differences in the types of euthanasia, supported euthanasia. Conclusion:Our study demonstrated that caregivers generally support the legalization of euthanasia. 70.8% of those who said that euthanasia could be performed by medical indications, 79.2% of those who said that it could be performed at the request of the patient, 54.2% of those who said that it could be performed at the request of the family of a patient without legal capacity, and 35.4% of those who said that it could be performed at the request of a treating physician tended to support euthanasia.

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Published

2023-09-30

How to Cite

Chuluunsukh, S., Tserenbat, M., Bayarmaa, E., Tuvshinjargal, T., & Tuvshinjargal, T. (2023). Evaluation of Knowledge and Attitudes toward Euthanasia between Physicians and Caregivers. Central Asian Journal of Medical Sciences, 9(3), 131–139. https://doi.org/10.24079/cajms.2023.09.004

Issue

Vol. 9 No. 3 (2023)

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Articles

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