A new study from the UK suggests that doctors' religious faith strongly influences end of life care, with agnostic and atheist doctors nearly twice as willing to take decisions that speed up end of life for very sick patients compared to their deeply religious peers.
Dr Clive Seale, a professor in the Centre for Health Sciences at Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry, Queen Mary University of London, wrote about the findings in a paper published online 23 August in the Journal of Medical Ethics.
Dr Clive Seale, a professor in the Centre for Health Sciences at Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry, Queen Mary University of London, wrote about the findings in a paper published online 23 August in the Journal of Medical Ethics.
Data for the study came from a postal survey of UK doctors working in a range of specialisms where end of life decisions are most likely to occur, such as care of the elderly, palliative care, intensive care, certain hospital specialties, and general practice.
The survey asked participants questions about their own faith and religious beliefs, ethnicity, and views on assisted dying and euthanasia. It also asked them a series of questions about the care of their last patient who died (if relevant), including whether they had given them continuous deep sedation until death, and if they had talked to the patient about decisions judged likely to shorten life.
3,733 doctors responded to the survey (42 % of the total invited). Of these, 2,933 answered questions on the care of a patient who died.
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