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Geriatricians’ attitudes towards voluntary assisted dying: A survey of Australian and New Zealand Society for Geriatric Medicine members
Author(s) -
Munday Tanya,
Poon Peter
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
australasian journal on ageing
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.63
H-Index - 34
eISSN - 1741-6612
pISSN - 1440-6381
DOI - 10.1111/ajag.12681
Subject(s) - turnover , medicine , voluntary association , family medicine , assisted living , nursing , political science , management , law , economics
Objective To identify the attitudes of Australian and New Zealand geriatricians to legalisation of voluntary assisted dying. Methods An anonymous, voluntary, online survey of Australian and New Zealand Society for Geriatric Medicine (ANZSGM) members. Results A total of 226 members completed the survey equating to a 20% response rate. About 24% of respondents supported legalisation of voluntary assisted dying, whilst 53% opposed. If voluntary assisted dying was legalised, 12% would be willing to prescribe to an appropriate patient, and 61% would be willing to refer them onto a third party. Risk to vulnerable patients was the most important concern identified. Conclusions Support for voluntary assisted dying among surveyed ANZSGM members is low, but varies according to patient circumstances. Key areas of concern highlighted were risk to vulnerable patients, estimating prognosis, and capacity assessments. Further training is required for doctors on discussing voluntary assisted dying options, estimating prognosis, and capacity assessments prior to implementation.