Table 2.
Example of the interview questions
| Personal information/background | |
| Year of birth | |
| Sex | |
| Medical education | |
| Motivation to study medicine | |
| Current employment | |
| Professional experience | |
| Main questions | |
| 1. Would you like to think of a case in which palliative sedation was used? | |
| 2. What was (in this case) the reason to commence sedation? | |
| 3. How was the decision to sedate made? ... ..Who were involved? ...... What was the response? | |
| 4. Can you tell me how you communicated the suggestion for palliative sedation? Who were involved (present)? | |
| 5. What was the response to your suggestion to switch to palliative sedation (patient / family)? | |
| 6. Can you describe its course (until death?) | |
| 7. How did those who were closely involved with the patient (family, relatives, etc.) respond? | |
| 8. Can you tell me about the contact with those involved after the patient died? | |
| *(Questions 1 to 8 can be applied to multiple cases.) | |
| Palliative sedation and good death | |
| 9. What do you see as the objective of palliative sedation? | |
| 10. What do you mean by a good death ... for a patient ...for his / her family (for yourself)? | |
| 11. What do you feel about pain relief (in the form of medication) at the end of life? (Would you use it yourself if you were a patient ... based on what considerations.) | |
| 12. How do you think the application of pain management relates to a good death, and what part does palliative sedation play? | |
| 13. What, in your opinion, does the use of palliative sedation at the end of life mean for the ‘quality’ of life? | |
| Religious background | |
| 14. In what kind of religious environment did you grow up (home & environment)? | |
| 15. Do you consider yourself a Muslim? Can you tell me something about that? | |
| 16. May I ask if you consider yourself to belong to a certain branch of Islam? | |
| 17. What is the current role and meaning of your religion in your daily life? | |
| 18. What is the significance of religion in your professional life (as a physician)? | |
| 19. Do you think your beliefs play a role in the considerations and choices you make as a professional? | |
| 20. What do the pronouncements of imams or Islamic scholars mean to you? | |
| 21. Are there any of pronouncements about palliative sedation to guide you? | |
| Are there things you find important to say but have not been addressed? |