Table 5.

Strength of faith and the opinion whether the withdrawal/withholding of life-saving procedures at the terminal stage of a disease is euthanasia/termination of futile care

	Strength of religious faith
	Low	Average	High	p
Is the withdrawal of life-saving procedures from patients in the terminal stage of a disease equivalent to euthanasia?^
Health-care professionals
Withholding of ventilator treatment	2.1%	8.3%	6.8%	0.1195
Withholding of antibiotic treatment	5.2%	12.4%	13.6%	0.1045
Withholding of parenteral nutrition	22.7%	33.7%	35.0%	0.1055
Abandonment of surgical procedures	1.0%	4.7%	6.8%	0.1277
Withholding of dialysis	5.2%	15.5%	12.6%	0.0384*
Withholding of blood transfusions	5.2%	16.6%	10.7%	0.0169*
Withdrawal of antibiotic treatment	4.1%	17.6%	21.4%	0.0014**
Withdrawal of parenteral nutrition	22.7%	33.7%	36.9%	0.0719
Withdrawal of dialysis	12.4%	21.2%	23.3%	0.1084
Non-health-care professionals
Withholding of ventilator treatment	21.2%	25.0%	45.4%	0.0236*
Withholding of antibiotic treatment	15.2%	28.8%	34.5%	0.1423
Withholding of parenteral nutrition	27.3%	50.0%	52.7%	0.0499*
Abandonment of surgical procedures	15.2%	25.0%	25.5%	0.4826
Withholding of dialysis	21.2%	34.6%	40.0%	0.1916
Withholding of blood transfusions	15.2%	32.7%	40.0%	0.0505
Withdrawal of antibiotic treatment	18.2%	36.5%	41.8%	0.0706
Withdrawal of parenteral nutrition	30.3%	44.2%	58.2%	0.0368*
Withdrawal of dialysis	27.3%	36.5%	50.9%	0.0738
Is a failure to attempt these life-saving procedures equivalent to withdrawal of futile medical care?^
Health-care professionals
Withholding of ventilator treatment	89.7%	80.8%	72.8%	0.0100**
Withholding of antibiotic treatment	58.8%	62.7%	56.3%	0.5407
Withholding of parenteral nutrition	46.4%	44.6%	43.7%	0.9253
Abandonment of surgical procedures	85.6%	85.0%	70.9%	0.0058**
Withholding of dialysis	77.3%	75.1%	67.0%	0.1986
Withholding of blood transfusions	83.5%	73.6%	68.0%	0.0377*
Withdrawal of antibiotic treatment	71.1%	66.3%	52.4%	0.0138*
Withdrawal of parenteral nutrition	51.5%	48.2%	41.7%	0.3613
Withdrawal of dialysis	75.3%	63.7%	57.3%	0.0259*
Non-health-care professionals
Withholding of ventilator treatment	60.6%	50.0%	32.7%	0.0291*
Withholding of antibiotic treatment	72.7%	44.2%	40.0%	0.0079**
Withholding of parenteral nutrition	27.3%	50.0%	52.7%	0.0499*
Abandonment of surgical procedures	75.8%	50.0%	45.5%	0.0162*
Withholding of dialysis	63.6%	40.4%	32.7%	0.0161*
Withholding of blood transfusions	72.7%	44.2%	30.9%	0.0007***
Withdrawal of antibiotic treatment	69.7%	36.5%	30.9%	0.0010**
Withdrawal of parenteral nutrition	30.3%	44.2%	58.2%	0.0368*
Withdrawal of dialysis	54.5%	44.2%	23.6%	0.0089**

Chi-square independence test was used;

^*–p < 0.05 (statistically significant)

^**–p < 0.01 (highly statistically significant)

^***–p < 0.001 (very highly statistically significant)

^The values do not add up to 100% as multiple answers were allowed