Skip to main content

Table 5 Factors associated with burdensome feelings after the most recent case of euthanasiaa

From: Physicians’ experiences with euthanasia: a cross-sectional survey amongst a random sample of Dutch physicians to explore their concerns, feelings and pressure

 

Not burdensome

Burdensome

Univariable logistic regression analysis

N = 121

N = 119

N (%)

N (%)

OR (95% CI)

Patient characteristics

 Gender

  Male

60 (49.6%)

67 (56.3%)

Reference

  Female

61 (50.4%)

52 (43.7%)

0.76 (0.46–1.27)

 Age (year)

   ≤ 64

31 (25.6%)

32 (26.9%)

Reference

  65–79

52 (43.0%)

55 (46.2%)

1.03 (0.55–1.91)

  ≥ 80

38 (31.4%)

32 (26.9%)

0.82 (0.41–1.61)

 Cancer

  No

52 (43.0%)

55 (46.6%)

Reference

  Yes

69 (57.0%)

63 (53.4%)

0.86 (0.52–1.44)

 Presence psychiatric disorder

  No

114 (94.2%)

111 (93.3%)

Reference

  Yes

7 (5.8%)

8 (6.7%)

1.17 (0.41–3.35)

 Life-expectancy

  < 1 month

26 (21.5%)

24 (20.2%)

Reference

  1–5 months

55 (45.5%)

45 (37.8%)

0.89 (0.45–1.75)

  ≥ 6 months

40 (33.1%)

50 (42.0%)

1.35 (0.68–2.71)

 Communication possible

  Less than good (reasonable-barely)

9 (7.4%)

10 (8.4%)

Reference

  Good

112 (92.6%)

109 (91.6%)

0.88 (0.34–2.24)

 Opinions of relatives regarding the request

  Not supporting (neutral, divided, opposing)

6 (5.0%)

7 (5.9%)

Reference

  Supporting

115 (95.0%)

112 (94.1%)

0.84 (0.27–2.56)

Physician characteristics

 Specialty

  General practitioner

86 (72.9%)

86 (74.8%)

Reference

  Elderly care physician

15 (12.7%)

17 (14.8%)

1.13 (0.53–2.41)

  Medical specialist

14 (11.9%)

6 (5.2%)

0.43 (0.16–1.17)

  Psychiatrist

3 (2.5%)

6 (5.2%)

2.00 (0.49–8.26)

 Gender

  Male

61 (50.8%)

60 (50.8%)

Reference

  Female

59 (49.2%)

58 (49.2%)

1.00 (0.60–1.66)

 Age (year)

  ≤ 39

32 (26.4%)

22 (18.5%)

Reference

  40–54

40 (33.1%)

60 (50.4%)

2.18 (1.11–4.28)

  ≥ 55

49 (40.5%)

37 (31.1%)

1.10 (0.55–2.19)

 Number of explicit request received in the last year

  0

25 (20.7%)

35 (29.4%)

2.49 (1.15–5.39)

  1

31 (25.6%)

45 (37.8%)

2.58 (1.24–5.39)

  2

33 (27.3%)

21 (17.6%)

1.13 (0.51–2.51)

  ≥ 3

32 (26.5%)

18 (15.1%)

Reference

 I felt pressured by the patient and/or his relatives to perform EAS as soon as possible

  No

100 (82.6%)

85 (71.4%)

Reference

  Yes

21 (17.4%)

34 (28.6%)

1.91 (1.03–3.53)

 I was concerned about administering the lethal drugs

  No

91 (75.8%)

68 (58.6%)

Reference

  Yes

29 (24.2%)

48 (41.4%)

2.22 (1.27–3.87)

 Occurrence of complications or adverse events during the performance of EAS

  No

114 (95.8%)

110 (92.4%)

Reference

  Yes

5 (4.2%)

9 (7.6%)

1.87 (0.61–5.74)

 I sought support to process the EAS

  No

79 (65.8%)

69 (58.0%)

Reference

  Yes

41 (34.2%)

50 (42.0%)

1.40 (0.83–2.36)

  1. a Missings varied between 5 and 12 (2.0–4.9%). Bold indicates statistical significance (p < 0.05)