TABLE 3.
Associations between having had an aftercare conversation and patient, physician, and process characteristics (n = 127) (Fourth evaluation of the Dutch euthanasia act, Netherlands, 2022).
| Aftercare conversation with relatives (yes) (%) | Univariable OR (95% CI) | Multivariable OR (95% CI) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Patient characteristics | |||
| Age | |||
| <65 years (n = 17) | 70.6 | 1.00 | |
| 65–79 years (n = 40) | 77.5 | 1.44 (0.40–5.16) | |
| ≥80 years (n = 65) | 78.5 | 1.52 (0.46–5.04) | |
| Gender | |||
| Male (n = 47) | 76.6 | 1.00 | |
| Female (n = 77) | 77.6 | 1.00 (0.43–2.36) | |
| Partner | |||
| Yes, cohabiting (n = 41) | 95.1 | 1.00 | 1.00 |
| Yes, not cohabiting (n = 8) | 50.0 | 0.05 (0.01–0.37) | 0.04 (0.01–0.38) |
| No, widow(er) (n = 63) | 71.4 | 0.13 (0.03–0.59) | 0.09 (0.02–0.48) |
| No, other (n = 13) | 61.5 | 0.08 (0.01–0.50) | 0.07 (0.01–0.48) |
| Diagnosis | |||
| Cancer (n = 32) | 81.3 | 1.00 | |
| Dementia (n = 15) | 86.7 | 1.50 (0.27–8.49) | |
| Accumulation of health problems related to old age (n = 52) | 76.9 | 0.77 (0.26–2.31) | |
| Other diagnosis (n = 27) | 66.7 | 0.46 (0.14–1.53) | |
| Level of dependency | |||
| Independent (n = 27) | 74.1 | 1.00 | |
| Limited care dependent (n = 30) | 76.7 | 1.15 (0.34–3.85) | |
| Care dependent (n = 69) | 78.3 | 1.26 (0.45–3.54) | |
| Life expectancy | |||
| <1 month (n = 31) | 80.6 | 1.00 | |
| 1–5 months (n = 26) | 69.2 | 0.54 (0.16–1.83) | |
| 6–12 months (n = 24) | 83.3 | 1.20 (0.30–4.84) | |
| >12 months (n = 45) | 75.6 | 0.74 (0.24–2.28) | |
| Physician characteristics | |||
| Medical specialty | |||
| General practitioner (n = 90) | 82.2 | 1.00 | 1.00 |
| Clinical specialist (n = 13) | 53.8 | 0.25 (0.08–0.85) | 0.15 (0.03–0.70) |
| Elderly care physician (n = 23) | 69.6 | 0.49 (0.18–1.40) | 0.90 (0.29–2.81) |
| Gender a | |||
| Male (n = 65) | 76.9 | 1.00 | |
| Female (n = 61) | 77.0 | 1.01 (0.44–2.31) | |
| Age | |||
| ≤40 years (n = 24) | 83.3 | 1.00 | |
| 41–50 years (n = 31) | 67.7 | 0.42 (0.11–1.56) | |
| 51–60 years (n = 44) | 81.8 | 0.90 (0.24–3.37) | |
| >60 years (n = 27) | 74.1 | 0.57 (0.14–2.26) | |
| Religious | |||
| No (n = 92) | 77.2 | 1.00 | |
| Yes (n = 35) | 77.1 | 1.00 (0.40–2.53) | |
| Work experience | |||
| ≤10 years (n = 14) | 85.7 | 1.00 | |
| 11–20 years (n = 42) | 71.4 | 0.42 (0.08–2.15) | |
| 21–30 years (n = 46) | 84.8 | 0.93 (0.17–5.08) | |
| >30 years (n = 25) | 68.0 | 0.35 (0.06–1.97) | |
| Process characteristics | |||
| Opinion of relatives about EAS request | |||
| Neutral (n = 6) | 50.0 | 1.00 | |
| Supportive (n = 119) | 78.2 | 3.58 (0.68–18.78) | |
| Not supportive (n = 2) | 100.0 | b | |
| Duration of EAS decision-making process | |||
| <1 month (n = 74) | 78.4 | 1.00 | |
| 1–3 months (n = 41) | 73.2 | 0.75 (0.31–1.82) | |
| >3 months (n = 11) | 81.8 | 1.24 (0.24–6.33) | |
| Euthanasia or physician assisted suicide | |||
| Euthanasia (n = 124) | 77.4 | 1.00 | |
| Physician-assisted suicide (n = 3) | 66.7 | 0.58 (0.05–6.67) | |
| Complications | |||
| Yes (n = 6) | 83.3 | 1.00 | |
| No (n = 121) | 76.9 | 0.66 (0.07–5.93) | |
Missing values: age patient 5, gender patient 3, partner 2, diagnosis 1, level of dependency 1, life expectancy 1, medical specialty 1, age physician 1, duration of EAS decision-making process 1.
Bold odds ratios in univariable regression indicates a p-value of < 0.10, in multivariable regression it indicates a p-value of < 0.05.
There was one physician who indicated to have gender “other.” This is treated as a missing value in this analysis due to problems with statistical power.
Not included in analyses because all cases in which relatives were not supportive of the EAS request had had an aftercare conversation.