Doctors' religious faith and end-of-life care
Impact on likelihood to accelerate death
Physicians who are very religious are half as likely to make decisions that potentially could end of the lives of terminally ill patients, according to a study just published in the Journal of Medical Ethics.1
Doctors who said they were "extremely" or "very nonreligious" were nearly twice as likely to have made choices such as provision of continuous deep sedation, which can accelerate death, according to an Associated Press (AP) report on the study.2 Religious physician also were significantly less likely to have discussed end-of-life treatments with patients, the study found.
More than 3,700 British physicians were surveyed randomly, and 2,923 reported on their most recent terminal patient, according to AP. Many of the physicians were specialists in geriatric and palliative care, the report said.
The author, Clive Seale, PhD, a professor at Barts and the London School of Medicine and Dentistry, advocates more acknowledgement of the relationship of doctors' values with clinical decision-making.
The study was sponsored by Britain's National Council for Palliative Care.
References
1. Seale C. The role of doctors' religious faith and ethnicity in taking ethically controversial decisions during end-of-life care. J Med Ethics. Published online Aug. 25, 2010. Doi:10.1136/jme.2010.036194
2. Cheng M. UK study: Nonreligious doctors hasten death more. Associated Press. Aug. 26, 2010. Accessed at http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/EU_MED_BRITAIN_DOCTORS_AND_DEATH?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT.
Physicians who are very religious are half as likely to make decisions that potentially could end of the lives of terminally ill patients, according to a study just published in the Journal of Medical Ethics.You have reached your article limit for the month. Subscribe now to access this article plus other member-only content.
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