Table 4. Selected comments from participants on their preference for the term vegetative state.

Comments are edited for clarity and spelling.

• [UWS] seems like an unnecessary euphemism.

• I think these new longer terms [like UWS] are silly.

• The name for her state [of consciousness] doesn’t matter, [it] doesn’t help her to get better.

• I understand [VS] instantly, but I would need an explanation for [UWS].

• I believe [VS] sounds correct from what I have seen on ER.a

• [VS] is well-established and generally understood; [UWS] is euphemistic.

• It is natural to call [VS] like that.

• Although it doesn’t sound as nice, I think that [VS] is better understood.

• [VS] sounds a bit harsh but people in that state do seem like vegetables. It is no life anymore.

• I grew up on that term and it is shorter to say.

• [VS] seems a more appropriate term given the situation.

• [VS] is a direct message instead of euphemism. I hate “political correctness” and similar artificial constructs which obfuscate the meaning of the original message.

• [UWS] makes it sound like there’s a potential cure—false hope.

• [UWS] would make me feel more upset. I would not like the idea that she [might be] awake.

• There’s no point sugar-coating something that is inherently depressing and morbid.

• I prefer to face the facts and call things what they are.

• Although [VS] may seem harsh, it is short, precise and easily understood.

• [VS] more clearly describes the condition.

• I see [UWS] as an attempt to disguise the reality.

• [UWS] sounds overdramatic and made-up.

• The way doctors talk about the disease will not change a thing.

• “State” makes it sound like a short-term problem, whereas “syndrome” feels permanent.

• “Vegetative” implies vegetable, but in the medical field nobody is trying to offend—it’s purely a medical term.

• [UWS] is wordy and deliberately sensitive. I feel that if this was my loved one, I wouldn’t be offended by [VS].

• [VS] is less of a mouth full. [UWS] is a complicated way of saying something rather simple.

• [VS] is more commonly known, I’m familiar to the term.

• I would know immediately what it was.

• I have always used this term.

• I think the term [VS] is better known. I would feel more comfortable with that term.

• “Syndrome” makes any medical condition sound really bad.

• I feel like it’s a little too much PC culture. I’d be okay with the term [VS] being used about my own loved ones.b

• [VS] seems more friendly and understandable for the average person.

• [VS] helps to avoid long explanations.

• [UWS] might be confusing and give me false hope.

• [UWS] sound like trying to sugar-coat the truth.

• [UWS] is pretentious and quite inaccurate.

• Medical conditions should be explained by using short and simple terms.

Notes.

^aER, famous American medical drama television series.

^bPC, political correctness.