Experiences, Personal Attitudes and Professional Stances of Swiss Health Care Professionals towards Voluntary Stopping of Eating and Drinking to Hasten Death: A Cross-Sectional Study.

CONTEXT: Voluntary stopping of eating and drinking (VSED) is the self-determined decision of an individual with the decision-making capacity to cause premature death. During the course of VSED, the person is dependent on the support of relatives and health professionals. To date, little is known of the attitudes of Swiss health professionals on this topic.

OBJECTIVES: The objective of this study was to assess the experiences, personal attitudes, and professional stances of Swiss health care professionals toward VSED.

METHODS: We conducted a nationwide cross-sectional survey by questioning family physicians and the heads of outpatient care and long-term care (e.g., nursing directors, institute directors, or head nurses) about VSED (n = 1,681; response rate: 40.1%). Descriptive data analysis and hypothesis testing (occupational group, age, sex, professional years, VSED experience, and regions) were subsequently conducted.

RESULTS: Individuals who are willing to die are granted the right to professional accompaniment during VSED (agreement: 97.8%), and their death is usually classified as a natural form of dying (63.5%) and only rarely (5.4%) as suicide. Family physicians have significantly more moral concerns during accompaniment compared to the heads of outpatient and long-term care (p < .001).

CONCLUSION: Swiss health professionals support the autonomy and self-determination of patients, which is also reflected in their positive attitude towards VSED, even if they have moral reservations when accompanying patients.