Cross-sectional survey on public attitudes and factors related to physician-assisted dying in Taiwan
Objective To examine the public’s stance on physician-assisted dying (PAD) in Taiwan across different PAD scenarios and identify demographic and psychosocial factors associated with the levels of support.Design Cross-sectional survey design. Independent variables included individual sociodemographic...
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BMJ Publishing Group
2025-01-01
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| Series: | BMJ Open |
| Online Access: | https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/15/1/e089388.full |
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| author | Kevin Chien-Chang Wu Chun-Tung Kuo Duan-Rung Chen |
| author_facet | Kevin Chien-Chang Wu Chun-Tung Kuo Duan-Rung Chen |
| author_sort | Kevin Chien-Chang Wu |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Objective To examine the public’s stance on physician-assisted dying (PAD) in Taiwan across different PAD scenarios and identify demographic and psychosocial factors associated with the levels of support.Design Cross-sectional survey design. Independent variables included individual sociodemographic characteristics, healthcare professionals, perceived quality of life, formal caregiver experience, Patient Right to Autonomy Act (PRAA) awareness and advance care planning (ACP) preparedness.Setting An online survey of the general population in Taiwan was conducted in 2022.Participants A total of 3922 Taiwanese adults who completed all survey questions.Outcome measures Agreement levels with PAD in three scenarios: terminal illnesses, unbearable non-terminal pain and severe cognitive impairments. Multivariate logistic regression was used to examine agreement with each PAD scenario as separate dependent variables in the first three models and overall agreement across all scenarios as the dependent variable in the fourth model.Results High levels of public support for PAD were observed, with 86.2% supporting PAD for terminal illnesses, 79.2% for unbearable non-terminal pain and 72.6% for severe cognitive impairments. Support for PAD was associated with factors including younger age, male gender, lack of religious affiliation, a non-healthcare professional background, employment as a formal caregiver, lack of awareness of PRAA and higher preparedness in ACP.Conclusions The results indicate a potential cultural shift in Taiwan towards greater emphasis on individual autonomy in end-of-life decisions. There appears to be significant public support for developing legal frameworks in favour of PAD, carefully considering the psychosocial factors that highlight the importance of individual rights in end-of-life care. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-f6ea09024d54488aa4c78bdb3325c31b |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2044-6055 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | BMJ Publishing Group |
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| series | BMJ Open |
| spelling | doaj-art-f6ea09024d54488aa4c78bdb3325c31b2025-01-21T01:55:08ZengBMJ Publishing GroupBMJ Open2044-60552025-01-0115110.1136/bmjopen-2024-089388Cross-sectional survey on public attitudes and factors related to physician-assisted dying in TaiwanKevin Chien-Chang Wu0Chun-Tung Kuo1Duan-Rung Chen24 Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Bioethics, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan1 Institute of Health Behaviours and Community Sciences, National Taiwan University College of Public Health, Taipei, Taiwan1 Institute of Health Behaviours and Community Sciences, National Taiwan University College of Public Health, Taipei, TaiwanObjective To examine the public’s stance on physician-assisted dying (PAD) in Taiwan across different PAD scenarios and identify demographic and psychosocial factors associated with the levels of support.Design Cross-sectional survey design. Independent variables included individual sociodemographic characteristics, healthcare professionals, perceived quality of life, formal caregiver experience, Patient Right to Autonomy Act (PRAA) awareness and advance care planning (ACP) preparedness.Setting An online survey of the general population in Taiwan was conducted in 2022.Participants A total of 3922 Taiwanese adults who completed all survey questions.Outcome measures Agreement levels with PAD in three scenarios: terminal illnesses, unbearable non-terminal pain and severe cognitive impairments. Multivariate logistic regression was used to examine agreement with each PAD scenario as separate dependent variables in the first three models and overall agreement across all scenarios as the dependent variable in the fourth model.Results High levels of public support for PAD were observed, with 86.2% supporting PAD for terminal illnesses, 79.2% for unbearable non-terminal pain and 72.6% for severe cognitive impairments. Support for PAD was associated with factors including younger age, male gender, lack of religious affiliation, a non-healthcare professional background, employment as a formal caregiver, lack of awareness of PRAA and higher preparedness in ACP.Conclusions The results indicate a potential cultural shift in Taiwan towards greater emphasis on individual autonomy in end-of-life decisions. There appears to be significant public support for developing legal frameworks in favour of PAD, carefully considering the psychosocial factors that highlight the importance of individual rights in end-of-life care.https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/15/1/e089388.full |
| spellingShingle | Kevin Chien-Chang Wu Chun-Tung Kuo Duan-Rung Chen Cross-sectional survey on public attitudes and factors related to physician-assisted dying in Taiwan BMJ Open |
| title | Cross-sectional survey on public attitudes and factors related to physician-assisted dying in Taiwan |
| title_full | Cross-sectional survey on public attitudes and factors related to physician-assisted dying in Taiwan |
| title_fullStr | Cross-sectional survey on public attitudes and factors related to physician-assisted dying in Taiwan |
| title_full_unstemmed | Cross-sectional survey on public attitudes and factors related to physician-assisted dying in Taiwan |
| title_short | Cross-sectional survey on public attitudes and factors related to physician-assisted dying in Taiwan |
| title_sort | cross sectional survey on public attitudes and factors related to physician assisted dying in taiwan |
| url | https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/15/1/e089388.full |
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