Cargando…

Norwegian nurses' perceptions of assisted dying requests from terminally ill patients—A qualitative interview study

This study explores the perceptions of Norwegian nurses who have received assisted dying requests from terminally ill patients. Assisted dying is illegal in Norway, while in some countries, it is an option. Nurses caring for terminally ill patients may experience ethical challenges by receiving requ...

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Hol, Hege, Vatne, Solfrid, Strømskag, Kjell Erik, Orøy, Aud, Rokstad, Anne Marie Mork
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: John Wiley and Sons Inc. 2022
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10078436/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/35975335
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/nin.12517
_version_ 1785020518334726144
author Hol, Hege
Vatne, Solfrid
Strømskag, Kjell Erik
Orøy, Aud
Rokstad, Anne Marie Mork
author_facet Hol, Hege
Vatne, Solfrid
Strømskag, Kjell Erik
Orøy, Aud
Rokstad, Anne Marie Mork
author_sort Hol, Hege
collection PubMed
description This study explores the perceptions of Norwegian nurses who have received assisted dying requests from terminally ill patients. Assisted dying is illegal in Norway, while in some countries, it is an option. Nurses caring for terminally ill patients may experience ethical challenges by receiving requests for euthanasia and assisted suicide. We applied a qualitative research design with a phenomenological hermeneutic approach using open individual interviews. A total of 15 registered nurses employed in pulmonary and oncology wards of three university hospitals and home care in one municipality were recruited. Four themes emerged from the analysis: (1) unprepared for the request; (2) meeting direct, indirect, and nonverbal requests; (3) working in a gray zone, and (4) feeling alone and powerless. The study found that nurses were unsure how to handle such requests due to professional uncertainty about assisted dying. Working in an environment where the topic is taboo made nurses morally uncertain, and some perceived this as moral distress. The hospital chaplain played a significant role in providing support to these nurses.
format Online
Article
Text
id pubmed-10078436
institution National Center for Biotechnology Information
language English
publishDate 2022
publisher John Wiley and Sons Inc.
record_format MEDLINE/PubMed
spelling pubmed-100784362023-04-07 Norwegian nurses' perceptions of assisted dying requests from terminally ill patients—A qualitative interview study Hol, Hege Vatne, Solfrid Strømskag, Kjell Erik Orøy, Aud Rokstad, Anne Marie Mork Nurs Inq Original Articles This study explores the perceptions of Norwegian nurses who have received assisted dying requests from terminally ill patients. Assisted dying is illegal in Norway, while in some countries, it is an option. Nurses caring for terminally ill patients may experience ethical challenges by receiving requests for euthanasia and assisted suicide. We applied a qualitative research design with a phenomenological hermeneutic approach using open individual interviews. A total of 15 registered nurses employed in pulmonary and oncology wards of three university hospitals and home care in one municipality were recruited. Four themes emerged from the analysis: (1) unprepared for the request; (2) meeting direct, indirect, and nonverbal requests; (3) working in a gray zone, and (4) feeling alone and powerless. The study found that nurses were unsure how to handle such requests due to professional uncertainty about assisted dying. Working in an environment where the topic is taboo made nurses morally uncertain, and some perceived this as moral distress. The hospital chaplain played a significant role in providing support to these nurses. John Wiley and Sons Inc. 2022-08-16 2023-01 /pmc/articles/PMC10078436/ /pubmed/35975335 http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/nin.12517 Text en © 2022 The Authors. Nursing Inquiry published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/This is an open access article under the terms of the http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
spellingShingle Original Articles
Hol, Hege
Vatne, Solfrid
Strømskag, Kjell Erik
Orøy, Aud
Rokstad, Anne Marie Mork
Norwegian nurses' perceptions of assisted dying requests from terminally ill patients—A qualitative interview study
title Norwegian nurses' perceptions of assisted dying requests from terminally ill patients—A qualitative interview study
title_full Norwegian nurses' perceptions of assisted dying requests from terminally ill patients—A qualitative interview study
title_fullStr Norwegian nurses' perceptions of assisted dying requests from terminally ill patients—A qualitative interview study
title_full_unstemmed Norwegian nurses' perceptions of assisted dying requests from terminally ill patients—A qualitative interview study
title_short Norwegian nurses' perceptions of assisted dying requests from terminally ill patients—A qualitative interview study
title_sort norwegian nurses' perceptions of assisted dying requests from terminally ill patients—a qualitative interview study
topic Original Articles
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10078436/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/35975335
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/nin.12517
work_keys_str_mv AT holhege norwegiannursesperceptionsofassisteddyingrequestsfromterminallyillpatientsaqualitativeinterviewstudy
AT vatnesolfrid norwegiannursesperceptionsofassisteddyingrequestsfromterminallyillpatientsaqualitativeinterviewstudy
AT strømskagkjellerik norwegiannursesperceptionsofassisteddyingrequestsfromterminallyillpatientsaqualitativeinterviewstudy
AT orøyaud norwegiannursesperceptionsofassisteddyingrequestsfromterminallyillpatientsaqualitativeinterviewstudy
AT rokstadannemariemork norwegiannursesperceptionsofassisteddyingrequestsfromterminallyillpatientsaqualitativeinterviewstudy