Attitudes Toward and Experience With Assisted-Death Services and Psychological Implications for Health Practitioners: A Narrative Systematic Review.
Susilo WibisonoKiara MintoMorgana Lizzio-WilsonEmma F ThomasMonique CranePascal MolenberghsMadison KhoCatherine E AmiotJean DecetyLauren J BreenKerrie NoonanLiz ForbatWinnifred R LouisPublished in: Omega (2022)
A narrative systematic review was conducted to review studies that examine mental health implications of involvement in assisted-death services among health practitioners. Qualitative and quantitative studies were included to understand health practitioners' attitudes and experiences with assisted dying services, as well as to identify the mental health consequences. We identified 18 articles from 1591 articles drawn from seven major scientific databases (i.e., PubMed, MEDLINE, CINAHL, PsycINFO, Embase, Web of Science, and Scopus). Two raters independently evaluated the exclusion and inclusion decisions of the articles and examined methodological flaws in the selected articles. We found that engagement in assisted death services were not reliably associated with mental health outcomes such as anxiety and moral distress. Both positive and negative outcomes were reported, and psychological outcomes for practitioners were shown to vary based on factors including social support for health practitioners' views; their perceived capacity to care for the patients; and legislation.
Keyphrases
- mental health
- primary care
- systematic review
- healthcare
- social support
- mental illness
- public health
- general practice
- depressive symptoms
- meta analyses
- palliative care
- end stage renal disease
- newly diagnosed
- social media
- big data
- health information
- high resolution
- pain management
- chronic kidney disease
- mass spectrometry
- metabolic syndrome
- chronic pain
- machine learning
- health promotion
- patient reported outcomes
- decision making