“I Am Okay With It, But I Am Not Going to Do It”: The Exogenous Factors Influencing Non-Participation in Medical Assistance in Dying

Date
2021-07-08
Authors
Brown, Janine
Goodridge, Donna
Thorpe, Lilian
Crizzle, Alexander
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
SAGE Publications
Abstract

Access to medical assistance in dying (MAID) is influenced by legislation, health care providers (HCPs), the number of patient requests, and the patients’ locations. This research explored the factors that influenced HCPs’ nonparticipation in formal MAID processes and their needs to support this emerging practice area. Using an interpretive description methodology, we interviewed 17 physicians and 18 nurse practitioners who identified as non-participators in formal MAID processes. Nonparticipation was influenced by their (a) previous personal and professional experiences, (b) comfort with death, (c) conceptualization of duty, (d) preferred end-of-life care approaches, (e) faith or spirituality beliefs, (f) self-accountability, (g) consideration of emotional labor, and (h) future emotional impact. They identified a need for clear care pathways and safe passage. Two separate yet overlapping concepts were identified, conscientious objection to and nonparticipation in MAID, and we discussed options to support the social contract of care between HCPs and patients.

Description
© The Author(s) 2021. Published by SAGE. This article is distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) license (https:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ 4.0/).
Keywords
medical assistance in dying, conscience objection, nonparticipation, physicians, nurse practitioners, decision-making, qualitative, interpretive description, Canada
Citation
Brown, J., Goodridge, D., Thorpe, L., & Crizzle, A. (2021). "I am okay with it, but I am not going to do it": The exogenous factors influencing non-participation in medical assistance in dying. Qualitative Health Research, 31(12), 2274-2289. https://doi.org/10.1177/10497323211008843
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