Biomaterial Database

Attitudes of registered nurses toward euthanasia. 1992

C R Shuman, and G P Fournet, and P F Zelhart, and B C Roland, and R E Estes

East Texas State University.

We sought to identify variables that contribute to euthanasia attitude and behavior, including demographics, death fears, experience with death, attitudes toward patient autonomy, and level of moral development. Subjects were 137 registered nurses from the southeastern United States representing 13 clinical nursing areas. Principal components analysis identified four factors that together explained 62.9% of total variance. These factors were belief in afterlife, nursing experience, liberal or conservative political view, and personal values. Variables identified through factor analysis were entered into regression analyses. These analyses showed that increased religious belief, years of nursing experience, and propensity to view death as an end of existence predicted opposition to euthanasia. Predictors for euthanasia support included a liberal political view, more experience with dying patients, and the belief that patients should have a personal responsibility for their own health-care decisions.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D009014	Morals	Standards of conduct that distinguish right from wrong.	Morality
D009726	Nurses	Professionals qualified by graduation from an accredited school of nursing and by passage of a national licensing examination to practice nursing. They provide services to patients requiring assistance in recovering or maintaining their physical or mental health.	Nursing Personnel,Personnel, Nursing,Registered Nurses,Nurse,Nurse, Registered,Nurses, Registered,Registered Nurse
D011057	Politics	Activities concerned with governmental policies, functions, etc.	Political Activity,Conservatism,Decentralization,Liberalism,Political Factors,Activities, Political,Activity, Political,Factor, Political,Factors, Political,Political Activities,Political Factor
D012044	Regression Analysis	Procedures for finding the mathematical function which best describes the relationship between a dependent variable and one or more independent variables. In linear regression (see LINEAR MODELS) the relationship is constrained to be a straight line and LEAST-SQUARES ANALYSIS is used to determine the best fit. In logistic regression (see LOGISTIC MODELS) the dependent variable is qualitative rather than continuously variable and LIKELIHOOD FUNCTIONS are used to find the best relationship. In multiple regression, the dependent variable is considered to depend on more than a single independent variable.	Regression Diagnostics,Statistical Regression,Analysis, Regression,Analyses, Regression,Diagnostics, Regression,Regression Analyses,Regression, Statistical,Regressions, Statistical,Statistical Regressions
D012067	Religion	A set of beliefs concerning the nature, cause, and purpose of the universe, especially when considered as the creation of a superhuman agency. It usually involves devotional and ritual observances and often a moral code for the conduct of human affairs. (Random House Collegiate Dictionary, rev. ed.)	Prayer,Religious Beliefs,Religious Ethics,Beliefs, Religious,Ethic, Religious,Prayers,Religions,Religious Belief
D001741	Black or African American	A person having origins in any of the black racial groups of Africa (https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/1997/10/30/97-28653/revisions-to-the-standards-for-the classification-of-federal-data-on-race-and-ethnicity). In the United States it is used for classification of federal government data on race and ethnicity. Race and ethnicity terms are self-identified social construct and may include terms outdated and offensive in MeSH to assist users who are interested in retrieving comprehensive search results for studies such as in longitudinal studies.	African American,African Americans,African-American,Afro-American,Afro-Americans,Black Americans,Blacks,Negroes,African-Americans,Negro,Afro American,Afro Americans,American, African,American, Black,Black American
D003625	Data Collection	Systematic gathering of data for a particular purpose from various sources, including questionnaires, interviews, observation, existing records, and electronic devices. The process is usually preliminary to statistical analysis of the data.	Data Collection Methods,Dual Data Collection,Collection Method, Data,Collection Methods, Data,Collection, Data,Collection, Dual Data,Data Collection Method,Method, Data Collection,Methods, Data Collection
D005065	Euthanasia	The act or practice of killing or allowing death from natural causes, for reasons of mercy, i.e., in order to release a person from incurable disease, intolerable suffering, or undignified death. (from Beauchamp and Walters, Contemporary Issues in Bioethics, 5th ed)	Mercy Killing,Killing, Mercy,Killings, Mercy,Mercy Killings
D005610	Freedom	The rights of individuals to act and make decisions without external constraints.	Liberty,Libertarianism,Freedoms
D006801	Humans	Members of the species Homo sapiens.	Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man