Department of Nursing Science, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland.
Department of Nursing Science, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland; Social and Health Care Services, Kuopio, Finland.
Dementia (London). 2019 May;18(4):1466-1478. doi: 10.1177/1471301217717063. Epub 2017 Jul 12.
Despite the increasing prevalence of dementia, little is known about individuals' attitudes towards euthanasia on patients with dementia or cognitive impairment.
Nurses (n = 1003) and representatives of the general public (n = 2796), recruited via social media and the Finnish Nurses Association, completed an electronic questionnaire in 2014.
Euthanasia due to severe dementia was approved by 54.6% of nurses and 64.4% of the general public. Depending on the age of the patient, between 50.0% and 54.7% of nurses and between 58.3% and 60.9% of the general public supported euthanasia on patients with severe cognitive impairment.
The attitudes towards euthanasia due to dementia or cognitive impairment are slightly more accepting among the general public than among nurses. Apart from religiosity, none of the background factors were found to be reliable predictors of individuals' attitudes. Additional research is needed to describe the underlying reasons for the attitudes.
尽管痴呆症的发病率不断上升，但人们对痴呆症或认知障碍患者的安乐死态度知之甚少。
2014 年，通过社交媒体和芬兰护士协会招募了护士（n=1003）和普通公众（n=2796）代表，并完成了电子问卷调查。
54.6%的护士和 64.4%的普通公众赞成因严重痴呆症而实施安乐死。根据患者的年龄，50.0%至 54.7%的护士和 58.3%至 60.9%的普通公众支持对严重认知障碍患者实施安乐死。
与护士相比，公众对痴呆症或认知障碍导致的安乐死态度略为宽容。除了宗教信仰之外，没有发现任何背景因素是个人态度的可靠预测因素。需要进一步研究以描述这些态度的潜在原因。
