Voluntary active euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide in Dutch nursing homes: requests and administration.

OBJECTIVE

To learn how many requests for voluntary active euthanasia and/or physician-assisted suicide (EAS) are made to Dutch nursing home physicians (NHPs) and how often these requests are honored.

DESIGN

Retrospective survey.

SETTING

The Netherlands.

PARTICIPANTS

All Dutch NHPs affiliated with the Dutch Association of Nursing Home Physicians (n = 713).

MEASUREMENTS

An anonymous postal questionnaire was sent to all Dutch NHPs affiliated with the Dutch Association of Nursing Home Physicians (n = 713). Respondents were asked how often they had received an explicit request for EAS and whether they had complied with that request. Those who had complied were asked questions about the last occasion on which they had administered either voluntary active euthanasia or physician-assisted suicide.

RESULTS

The response rate was 86% (n = 582). Of the respondents, 88% had never administered EAS in nursing homes. The remaining 12% (n = 69) had received 164 requests for voluntary active euthanasia and 53 requests for physician-assisted suicide in the period 1986 through mid-1990. Of these requests, 74 were granted (51 voluntary active euthanasia and 23 physician-assisted suicide). Dutch NHPs together receive an average of 300 requests for EAS a year. They comply with 25 of such requests annually.

CONCLUSION

Not many requests for EAS are made in Dutch nursing homes. Of these requests, fewer than 1 in 10 result in the actual administration of EAS. The data presented are relatively constant for the 4.5-year period studied.