Attitudes toward assisted suicide requests in the context of severe and persistent mental illness: A survey of psychiatrists in Switzerland
Open accessAbstract
Objective: Switzerland is among the few countries worldwide where a request for assisted suicide (AS) can be granted on the basis of a primary psychiatric diagnosis. Psychiatrists play an increasingly important role in this regard, especially when the request for AS arises in the context of suffering caused by severe and persistent mental illness (SPMI). The objective of the survey was to assess general attitudes among psychiatrists in Switzerland regarding AS requests from patients with SPMI. Method: In a cross-sectional survey of 1,311 German-speaking psychiatrists in Switzerland, participants were asked about their attitude to AS for patients with SPMI, based on three case vignettes of patients diagnosed with anorexia nervosa, treatment-refractory depression, or severe persistent schizophrenia. Result: From a final sample of 457 psychiatrists (a response rate of 34.9%) whose mean age was 57.8 years, 48.6% of respondents did not support access to AS for persons diagnosed with SPMI, 21.2% were neutral, and 29.3% indicated some degree of support for access. In relation to the case vignettes, a slightly higher percentage of respondents supported the patient's wish to seek AS: 35.4% for those diagnosed with anorexia nervosa, 32.1% for those diagnosed with depression, and 31.4% for those diagnosed with schizophrenia. Significance of results: Although a majority of the responding psychiatrists did not support AS for SPMI patients, about one-third would have supported the wishes of patients in the case vignettes. In light of the increasing number of psychiatric patients seeking AS and the continuing liberalization of AS practices, it is important to understand and take account of psychiatrists’ perspectives.
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Similar data on psychiatric nurses' support and ability to discuss MAiD-NT were reported in Switzerland.
“Similar data were reported in Switzerland [46].”
From Debating Euthanasia and Physician-Assisted Death in People with Psychiatric Disorders (2022) · cites this paper as [46]
A survey of German-speaking psychiatrists in Switzerland reported that the majority of respondents would not support a request for assisted suicide in cases of severe mental disorder.
“A survey of German-speaking psychiatrists in Switzerland reported that the majority of respondents would not support a request for assisted suicide in cases of severe mental disorder (10).”
From Practical Issues of Medical Experts in Assessing Persons With Mental Illness Asking for Assisted Dying in Switzerland (2022) · cites this paper as [10]
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- Authors
- Hodel, M. A., Hoff, P., Irwin, S. A., Biller-Andorno, N., Riese, F., & Trachsel, M.
- Affiliations
- University of Zurich (CH)
- Psychiatrische Universitätsklinik Zürich (CH)
- Corresponding author
- Hodel, Martina A.
- Venue
- Palliative and Supportive Care
- Publisher
- Cambridge University Press (CUP)
- Published
- 2019-05-27
- Volume
- 17
- Issue
- 6
- Pages
- 621-627
- ISSN
- 1478-9515 (ISSN-L)
- 1478-9523
- OpenAlex
- W2947901482
- Cited by
- 25
- References
- 31
- Citations by year
- 2026: 3 · 2025: 1 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 5 · 2022: 4 · 2021: 6 · 2020: 4
- FWCI
- 4.09
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.zora.uzh.ch
- Licence
- cc-by-nc-nd
- www.cambridge.org/core/terms (unspecified)
- Locations
- Palliative & Supportive Care (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Zurich Open Repository and Archive (University of Zurich) (acceptedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- Zurich Open Repository and Archive (University of Zurich) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- Zurich Open Repository and Archive (University of Zurich) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- Zurich Open Repository and Archive (University of Zurich)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Suicide and Self-Harm Studies
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Ethics and bioethics in healthcare
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Health, Medicine and Society
- Keywords
- assisted suicide, severe and persistent mental illness, psychiatrists' attitudes, anorexia nervosa, treatment-resistant depression, schizophrenia, case vignettes, Switzerland
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Attitude of Health Personnel, Mental Disorders, Female, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Psychiatry, Surveys and Questionnaires, Switzerland, Suicide, Assisted
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