Institute of Neurology, National Hospital of Sri Lanka, Colombo, Sri Lanka.
Department of Paediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Colombo, Colombo, Sri Lanka.
BMC Med Ethics. 2021 Dec 7;22(1):162. doi: 10.1186/s12910-021-00731-2.
Euthanasia is a topic of intense ethical debate and it is illegal in most countries at present, including Sri Lanka. The aim of this descriptive cross-sectional study of medical students and practicing doctors was to explore the acceptance of euthanasia and physician assisted suicide (PAS), and factors influencing this opinion.
A customised online questionnaire which explored opinions on euthanasia was administered to first and final year medical undergraduates in University of Colombo and practicing doctors with more than 5 years of work experience at The National Hospital of Sri Lanka. Attitudes on euthanasia and PAS were also assessed with the attitudes towards euthanasia (ATE) Scale, which is a 10-item questionnaire.
A total of 425 individuals responded (males: 178, 42%, age: median - 27 years), which included 143 (33.6%) first-year medical undergraduates, 141 (33.2%) final-year medical undergraduates and 141 (33.2%) practicing doctors. More participants (200, 47.1%) favoured legalizing euthanasia than those directly opposing it (110, 25.9%), but a significant proportion (27%) remained undecided. The mean scores of ATE questionnaire from the whole sample were generally unfavourable towards euthanasia/PAS. Accepting euthanasia as an option for oneself (p = < 0.001) was the strongest predictor of favouring euthanasia/PAS or supporting its legalization.
In this cross-sectional survey, more respondents supported legalisation of euthanasia in Sri Lanka than those openly opposing it. Yet, a significant minority that responded as "undecided" for legalisation, were more likely to have unfavourable ATE.
安乐死是一个极具伦理争议的话题，目前在大多数国家都是非法的，包括斯里兰卡。本研究旨在探讨医学生和执业医生对安乐死和医师协助自杀（PAS）的接受程度，以及影响这种观点的因素。
本研究采用定制的在线问卷，对科伦坡大学的医学生和在斯里兰卡国家医院工作超过 5 年的执业医生进行了调查。采用 10 项问卷的安乐死态度量表（ATE）评估了对安乐死和 PAS 的态度。
共有 425 人（男性：178 人，42%，中位数年龄：27 岁）参与了本次研究，其中包括 143 名（33.6%）一年级医学生、141 名（33.2%）五年级医学生和 141 名（33.2%）执业医生。更多的参与者（200 人，47.1%）支持安乐死合法化，而直接反对的参与者（110 人，25.9%）较少，但仍有相当一部分（27%）的人未作出决定。整个样本的 ATE 问卷平均分普遍对安乐死/PAS 持否定态度。接受安乐死作为自己的选择（p = < 0.001）是支持安乐死/PAS 或支持其合法化的最强预测因素。
在本次横断面调查中，支持安乐死在斯里兰卡合法化的受访者多于公开反对的受访者。然而，对合法化持“未决定”态度的少数人更有可能对 ATE 持否定态度。
