Table 3.
Attitudes regarding end-of-life decision-making and implementation
| Question | Answers | All | Physicians | Nurses | Male | Female | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| N | % | N | % | N | % | N | % | N | % | ||
| Do you think that withholding and withdrawing LST in end-of-life patients is ethically acceptable? | Yes | 281 | 64.2 | 109 | 79.6 | 172 | 57.1 | 73 | 72.3 | 204 | 61.5 |
| No | 21 | 4.8 | 3 | 2.2 | 18 | 6.0 | 1 | 1.0 | 20 | 6.0 | |
| I cannot decide | 124 | 28.3 | 22 | 16.1 | 102 | 33.9 | 25 | 24.8 | 98 | 29.5 | |
| Do you think there is a difference between withholding and withdrawing LST from an ethical standpoint? | Yes | 163 | 37.2 | 53 | 38.7 | 110 | 36.5 | 38 | 37.6 | 124 | 37.4 |
| No | 119 | 27.2 | 47 | 34.3 | 72 | 23.9 | 29 | 28.7 | 87 | 26.2 | |
| I cannot decide | 143 | 32.7 | 33 | 24.1 | 110 | 36.5 | 33 | 32.7 | 109 | 32.8 | |
| Do you think DNACPR decisions in end-of-life patients are ethically acceptable? | Yes | 315 | 71.9 | 121 | 88.3 | 194 | 64.5 | 82 | 81.2 | 229 | 69.0 |
| No | 31 | 7.1 | 3 | 2.2 | 28 | 9.3 | 4 | 4.0 | 27 | 8.1 | |
| I cannot decide | 86 | 19.6 | 13 | 9.5 | 73 | 24.3 | 15 | 14.9 | 70 | 21.1 | |
| Who should be included in LST limitation discussions if the patient is incapacitated? | Physician alone | 4 | 0.9 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1.3 | 1 | 1.0 | 3 | 0.9 |
| A group of physicians | 124 | 28.3 | 54 | 39.4 | 70 | 23.3 | 36 | 35.6 | 86 | 25.9 | |
| Physician and family members/legal guardians | 204 | 46.6 | 36 | 26.3 | 168 | 55.8 | 39 | 38.6 | 165 | 49.7 | |
| Hospital’s ethics committee | 21 | 4.8 | 12 | 8.8 | 9 | 3.0 | 8 | 7.9 | 13 | 3.9 | |
| The court | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Patient’s legal guardian based on patient’s AD | 13 | 3.0 | 5 | 3.7 | 8 | 2.7 | 3 | 3.0 | 10 | 3.0 | |
| Written and/or verbal LST limitation decision made by a competent patient should be respected | Yes | 348 | 79.5 | 107 | 78.1 | 241 | 80.1 | 75 | 74.3 | 268 | 80.7 |
| No | 12 | 2.7 | 4 | 2.9 | 8 | 2.7 | 3 | 3.0 | 9 | 2.7 | |
| I don’t know | 69 | 15.8 | 23 | 16.8 | 46 | 15.3 | 22 | 21.8 | 47 | 14.2 | |
| How often are you acquainted with patients’ and their families' wishes about LST limitations? | Very frequently | 22 | 5.0 | 5 | 3.7 | 17 | 5.7 | 4 | 4.0 | 17 | 5.1 |
| Frequently | 111 | 25.3 | 50 | 36.5 | 61 | 20.3 | 33 | 32.7 | 77 | 23.2 | |
| I cannot decide | 48 | 11.0 | 11 | 8.0 | 37 | 12.3 | 10 | 9.9 | 38 | 11.5 | |
| Rarely | 184 | 42.0 | 54 | 39.4 | 130 | 43.2 | 39 | 38.6 | 143 | 43.1 | |
| Very rarely | 58 | 13.2 | 17 | 12.4 | 41 | 13.6 | 14 | 13.9 | 43 | 13.0 | |
| How often do you encounter AD in your practice? | Frequently | 1 | 0.2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.3 |
| Rarely | 128 | 29.2 | 42 | 30.7 | 86 | 28.6 | 36 | 35.6 | 91 | 27.4 | |
| Never | 294 | 67.1 | 94 | 68.6 | 200 | 66.5 | 63 | 62.4 | 227 | 68.4 | |
LST life-sustaining treatment; DNACPR do-not-attempt cardiopulmonary resuscitation; AD advance directives