16 research outputs found
Social and ethical criteria for prioritizing patients: a survey of students and health professionals in Portugal
O estudo quali-quantitativo explora
o dilema ético da microalocação dos recursos da
saĂșde. Objetiva identificar e comparar a opiniĂŁo
de dois grupos da sociedade portuguesa - estudantes
e profissionais de saĂșde sobre a importĂąncia
das caracterĂsticas pessoais dos pacientes no momento
de os priorizar e se as escolhas se explicam
por referenciais bioéticos de caråter utilitaristas ou
deontológicos. Os dados foram recolhidos através
de um questionĂĄrio aplicado a uma amostra de
180 estudantes universitĂĄrios e 60 profissionais de
saĂșde. Os respondentes perante hipotĂ©ticos cenĂĄ-
rios de emergĂȘncia clĂnica tiveram de escolher de
entre dois pacientes (distinguidos por idade, sexo,
responsabilidade social, situação económica e laboral,
comportamentos lesivos da saĂșde e registo
criminal) quem tratar e justificar a escolha. Foram
usados testes estatĂsticos de associação para
comparar as respostas dos dois grupos e anĂĄlise
de conteĂșdo para categorizar as justificaçÔes. Os
resultados sugerem a existĂȘncia de diferenças nas
escolhas dos dois grupos, com os profissionais de
saĂșde a revelarem aceitar menos a utilização de
critĂ©rios sociais em contexto de escassez e coexistĂȘncia
de critérios utilitaristas e deontológicos,
com predomĂnio da eficiĂȘncia por parte dos profissionais
de saĂșde e da equidade por parte dos
estudantesThis qualitative/quantitative study examines
the ethical dilemma of microallocation of
health resources. It seeks to identify and compare
the opinion of two groups in Portuguese society
â students and health professionals â on the importance
of personal characteristics of patients at
the moment of prioritizing them and if the choices
can be explained by bioethical references of a
utilitarian or deontological nature. Data were
collected by means of a questionnaire administered
to a sample of 180 students and 60 health
professionals. Faced with hypothetical emergency
scenarios, the respondents had to choose between
two patients (distinguished by: age, gender, social
responsibility, economic and employment
situation, harmful health behaviors and criminal
record), duly selecting who to treat and then
justifying their choice. The results suggest the existence
of differences in choices between the two
groups, with health professionals revealing they
are less prepared to accept the use of social criteria
in a context of scarce resources and co-existence
of utilitarian and deontological criteria, with a
predominance of efficiency on the part of health
professionals and equity on the part of students.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Finnish nurses' attitudes towards their role in the euthanasia process
BACKGROUND: Nurses' voices remain unheard in most debates about euthanasia, although their crucial role in the euthanasia process is widely acknowledged. Moreover, in Canadian euthanasia law, nurses have a more active role, which further highlights the need for knowledge about nurses' attitudes towards their role in the euthanasia process. RESEARCH QUESTIONS: What are Finnish nurses' attitudes towards their potential role in the euthanasia process? Which characteristics are associated with those attitudes? RESEARCH DESIGN: Cross-sectional web-based survey. PARTICIPANTS AND RESEARCH CONTEXT: 1003 nurses, recruited via social media and the members' bulletin of the Finnish Nurses Association. ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS: Ethical approval was obtained from the Committee on Research Ethics of the university to which the first author was affiliated. FINDINGS: The great majority (85.2%) of nurses felt that their perspective should be considered in decision-making related to euthanasia. Furthermore, most of the participants (74.7%) reported willingness to participate in the euthanasia process if it were legal, and 88.6% agreed that a nurse should be present when euthanasia is performed if the patient wishes so. Furthermore, over half agreed that some of the preparatory tasks were part of their job description. However, a minority (32.9%) agreed with a possible obligation to participate based on their profession. Nurses' age, religiosity and educational level influenced their attitudes in the current results. DISCUSSION: Despite the strong agreement on decision-making concerning euthanasia and participation in the euthanasia process, obligation to participate based on the profession was rejected by most participants. Nurses regarded themselves as consultants in the decision-making process, which may indicate their unwillingness to share the responsibility for the decision itself. CONCLUSION: Specific safety mechanisms should be considered to protect nurses who refuse to be involved in the euthanasia process due to harm that involuntary participation might cause.status: Published onlin