Norwegian nurses' perceptions of assisted dying requests from terminally ill patients-A qualitative interview study. 2023

Hege Hol, and Solfrid Vatne, and Kjell Erik Strømskag, and Aud Orøy, and Anne Marie Mork Rokstad
Faculty of Health Science and Social Care, Molde University College, Molde, Norway.

This study explores the perceptions of Norwegian nurses who have received assisted dying requests from terminally ill patients. Assisted dying is illegal in Norway, while in some countries, it is an option. Nurses caring for terminally ill patients may experience ethical challenges by receiving requests for euthanasia and assisted suicide. We applied a qualitative research design with a phenomenological hermeneutic approach using open individual interviews. A total of 15 registered nurses employed in pulmonary and oncology wards of three university hospitals and home care in one municipality were recruited. Four themes emerged from the analysis: (1) unprepared for the request; (2) meeting direct, indirect, and nonverbal requests; (3) working in a gray zone, and (4) feeling alone and powerless. The study found that nurses were unsure how to handle such requests due to professional uncertainty about assisted dying. Working in an environment where the topic is taboo made nurses morally uncertain, and some perceived this as moral distress. The hospital chaplain played a significant role in providing support to these nurses.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
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
D009732 Nursing Care Care given to patients by nursing service personnel. Care, Nursing,Management, Nursing Care,Nursing Care Management
D006801 Humans Members of the species Homo sapiens. Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D017236 Suicide, Assisted Provision (by a physician or other health professional, or by a family member or friend) of support and/or means that gives a patient the power to terminate his or her own life. (from APA, Thesaurus of Psychological Index Terms, 8th ed). Assisted Suicide,Death, Assisted,Medically Assisted Suicide,Physician-Assisted Suicide,Medically Assisted Suicides,Suicide, Medically Assisted,Suicides, Medically Assisted,Assisted Death,Assisted Deaths,Assisted Suicides,Deaths, Assisted,Physician Assisted Suicide,Physician-Assisted Suicides,Suicide, Physician-Assisted,Suicides, Assisted,Suicides, Physician-Assisted
D019452 Terminally Ill Persons with an incurable or irreversible illness at the end stage that will result in death within a short time. (From O'Leary et al., Lexikon: Dictionary of Health Care Terms, Organizations, and Acronyms for the Era of Reform, 1994, p780) Ill, Terminally
D036301 Qualitative Research Any type of research that employs nonnumeric information to explore individual or group characteristics, producing findings not arrived at by statistical procedures or other quantitative means. (Qualitative Inquiry: A Dictionary of Terms Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 1997) Research, Qualitative

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