Maybe for unbearable suffering: Diverse racial, ethnic and cultural perspectives of assisted dying. A scoping review.

BACKGROUND

Assisted dying, also commonly known as euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide, is legal in many countries. Interest in assisted dying is growing due to evolving societal understandings of a good death and a desire for choice. Ethico-legal perspectives are well-known, but as societies become more heterogenous, a greater understanding of the perspectives of people from diverse racial, ethnic, and cultural backgrounds is needed.

AIM

To explore perspectives of people from diverse racial, ethnic and cultural backgrounds about assisted dying.

DESIGN

Scoping review with narrative synthesis. The protocol was registered with Open Science Framework.

DATA SOURCES

Medline, CINAHL Complete, PsycINFO and ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global were searched from inception to May 2023. Citations were independently assessed against inclusion and exclusion criteria.

RESULTS

Of the 17 included studies, perspectives of assisted dying were presented according to religion, religiosity, spirituality, race, ethnicity and ancestry. Perspectives were diverse, presenting more as a spectrum, with multiple intersections and interconnections. Support and/or opposition for assisted dying differed according to cultural attributes, but even amongst those with similar cultural attributes, perspectives differed according to life experiences and notions of suffering.

CONCLUSION

Perspectives on assisted dying are dynamic and evolving. Even where assisted dying is legalised, individual's cultural attributes contribute to unique perspectives of assisted dying as an end-of-life option. Thus, understanding a person's culture, beliefs, expectations and choices in illness, treatment goals and care is fundamental, extending beyond what may be already considered as part of clinician-patient care relationships and routine advance care planning.