Mulugeta Tidenek, Alemu Sintayehu
School of Pharmacy, Institute of Health, Jimma University, P. O. Box: 378, Jimma, Ethiopia.
J Pharm Policy Pract. 2023 Mar 9;16(1):41. doi: 10.1186/s40545-023-00530-7.
Euthanasia is the last resort for those living with untreatable and terminable diseases which cause pain and suffering. However, the concept of euthanasia resulted in many dilemmas and controversy around life extension and death.
The aim of this study was to evaluate the knowledge and attitudes of final year pharmacy and law students concerning euthanasia.
A descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out among all final year law and pharmacy undergraduate students. The data were collected using self-administered structured questionnaire and analyzed by SPSS version 22. Multivariate logistic regression was used to assess the influence of socio-demographic characteristics of participant's on acceptance of euthanasia.
72 (61.5%) of the students were declared that euthanasia is administration of lethal drugs to a patient at the explicit request of that patient. Majority 87 (74.4%) of the students knew that euthanasia is active shortening of the dying process. Most participants 95(81.2%) awared that there is no legalized euthanasia in Ethiopia. On the other hand, 47(40.2%) believed the patient has the right to choose to end his/her own life. Around 45% had the view that euthanasia should be legalized in some circumstances. Only 27.3% (n = 32) of the respondents endorsed legalization of euthanasia in Ethiopia. 35 (29.9%) said euthanasia should be performed. The acceptance of euthanasia was greater for pharmacy students compared to law students [adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 3.490; 95% CI 1.346-9.049; p = 0.010] and lower for Muslim students compared to Orthodox students (AOR = 0.186; 95% CI 0.044-0.783; p = 0.022).
The final year law and pharmacy students were aware of euthanasia. However, majority of students did not reveal favorable attitude toward euthanasia and its acceptance was low. Participants' field of study and religion were significantly affect acceptance of euthanasia As the current study limited to pharmacy and law students, the authors suggest that future studies should involve various segments of societies to investigate more about euthanasia in Ethiopia.
安乐死是那些患有无法治愈且可终结生命的疾病并承受痛苦之人的最后手段。然而，安乐死的概念引发了许多关于延长生命和死亡的困境与争议。
本研究旨在评估药学和法学专业大四学生对安乐死的认知和态度。
对所有法学和药学专业本科大四学生开展了一项描述性横断面研究。通过自行填写的结构化问卷收集数据，并使用SPSS 22版进行分析。采用多变量逻辑回归评估参与者的社会人口学特征对安乐死接受度的影响。
72名（61.5%）学生宣称安乐死是应患者明确要求向其施用致命药物。大多数87名（74.4%）学生知道安乐死是主动缩短死亡过程。大多数参与者95名（81.2%）知晓埃塞俄比亚没有合法化的安乐死。另一方面，47名（40.2%）认为患者有权选择结束自己的生命。约45%的人认为在某些情况下安乐死应合法化。只有27.3%（n = 32）的受访者支持埃塞俄比亚安乐死合法化。35名（29.9%）表示应实施安乐死。与法律专业学生相比，药学专业学生对安乐死的接受度更高[调整优势比（AOR）= 3.490；95%置信区间1.346 - 9.049；p = 0.010]，与东正教徒相比，穆斯林学生对安乐死的接受度更低（AOR = 0.186；95%置信区间0.044 - 0.783；p = 0.022）。
法学和药学专业大四学生知晓安乐死。然而，大多数学生对安乐死并未表现出积极态度，其接受度较低。参与者的专业领域和宗教信仰显著影响对安乐死的接受度。由于当前研究仅限于药学和法学专业学生，作者建议未来研究应涵盖社会各阶层，以更多地调查埃塞俄比亚的安乐死情况。
