End of life: conceptual understanding of euthanasia, dysthanasia and orthothanasia

Abstract This study evaluates the knowledge of intensive care physicians about the concepts of euthanasia, dysthanasia and orthothanasia in Campo Grande/MS, Brazil. The cross-sectional and qualitative research involved 80 doctors who responded to a self-administered questionnaire, with closed and open questions that aimed to assess the interviewee’s knowledge of the three concepts. Data analysis showed that 32% of respondents inadequately defined euthanasia, and 75% and 61.2% accurately defined dysthanasia and orthothanasia, respectively. In turn, 46.2% had adequate knowledge of the three terms and practices. We noticed that the years of practice since graduation were inversely proportional to the knowledge of concepts.

摘要：本研究针对巴西大坎普市（Campo Grande/MS）的重症监护医师（intensive care physicians），评估其对安乐死（euthanasia）、劣死（dysthanasia）及正死（orthothanasia）三个概念的认知水平。本项横断面定性研究共纳入80名医师，采用包含封闭式与开放式问题的自填式问卷，以评估受访者对上述三个概念的掌握情况。数据分析结果显示，32%的受访者无法准确界定安乐死，分别有75%与61.2%的受访者可准确界定劣死与正死。另有46.2%的受访者对这三个术语及相关实践具备充分认知。研究同时发现，医师毕业后的从业年限与其对上述概念的掌握程度呈负相关。