Is Every Life Worth Saving: Does Religion and Religious Beliefs Influence Paramedic's End-of-Life Decision-making? A Prospective Questionnaire-based Investigation

BACKGROUND: Paramedics, arriving on emergency cases first, have to make end-of-life decisions almost on a daily basis. Faith shapes attitudes toward the meaning and worth of life itself and therefore influences decision-making. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to detect whether or not religious and spiritual beliefs influence paramedics in their workday life concerning end-of-life decisions, and whether it is legally possible for them to act according to their conscience. METHODS AND DESIGN: This is a literature review of prior surveys on the topic using five key words and questionnaire-based investigation using a self-administered online survey instrument. SETTINGS/PARTICIPANTS: Paramedics all over Germany were given the opportunity to participate in this online questionnaire-based study. MEASUREMENTS: Two databases were searched for prior studies for literature review. Participants were asked about their religiosity, how it affects their work, especially in end-of-life situations, how experienced they are, and whether or not they have any legal latitude to withhold resuscitation. RESULTS: A total of 429 paramedics answered the questionnaire. Religious paramedics would rather hospitalize a patient holding an advance directive than leave him/her at home (P = 0.036) and think death is less a part of life than the nonreligious (P = 0.001). Otherwise, the Spearman's rho correlation was statistically insignificant for all tests regarding resuscitation. CONCLUSIONS: The paramedic's religiosity is not the prime factor in his/her decision-making regarding resuscitation.