Norwegian nurses' attitudes toward assisted dying : a cross-sectional study

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose was to investigate: (a) Norwegian nurses’ attitudes toward assisted dying, and (b) how much nurses receive requests from terminally ill patients for help in dying. Participants and Methods: A quantitative explorative study was conducted using a web-based cross-sectional survey to collect data. The survey was sent to a total of 734 eligible participants, and 205 clinical nurses participated by completing the survey. Data were analyzed using bivariate statistics and multivariate ordinal regression. Results: The study revealed that 56% of the participating nurses agreed with the statement that physician-assisted suicide should be allowed, and 48% supported legalization of euthanasia. Nurses in pulmonary wards were more positive about the legalization of physician-assisted suicide (OR = 2.98, CI = 1.34– 6.66, p = 0.008) and euthanasia (OR = 3.51, CI = 1.58– 7.81, p = 0.002) than nurses in oncological wards. Nurses over 30 years old held more negative attitudes about physician-assisted suicide than younger nurses (OR = 0.16, CI = 0.07– 0.39, p