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Dignity in end-of-life care: results of a national survey of U.S. physicians.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Antiel, RM; Curlin, FA; James, KM; Sulmasy, DP; Tilburt, JC
Published in: J Pain Symptom Manage
September 2012

CONTEXT: Debates persist about the relevance of "dignity" as an ethical concept in U.S. health care, especially in end-of-life care. OBJECTIVES: To describe the attitudes and beliefs regarding the usefulness and meaning of the concept of dignity and to examine judgments about a clinical scenario in which dignity might be relevant. METHODS: Two thousand practicing U.S. physicians, from all specialties, were mailed a survey. Main measures included physicians' judgments about an end-of-life clinical scenario (criterion variable), attitudes about the concept of dignity (predictors), and their religious characteristics (predictors). RESULTS: Responses were received from 1032 eligible physicians (54%). Nine (90%) of 10 physicians reported that dignity was relevant to their practice. After controlling for age, gender, region, and specialty, physicians who judged that the case patient had either some dignity or full dignity, and who agreed that dignity is given by a creator, were all positively associated with believing that the patient's life was worth living (odds ratio [OR] 10.2, 95% confidence interval [CI] 5.8-17.8, OR 20.5, 95% CI 11.4-36.8, OR 4.7, 95% CI 3.1-7.0, respectively). Respondents who strongly agreed that "all living humans have the same amount of dignity" were also more likely to believe that the patient's life was worth living (OR 1.8, 95% CI 1.2-2.7). Religious characteristics also were associated with believing that the case patient's life was worth living (OR 4.1, 95% CI 2.4-7.2, OR 3.2, 95% CI 1.6-6.3, OR 9.2, 95% CI 4.3-19.5, respectively). CONCLUSION: U.S. physicians view the concept of dignity as useful. Those views are associated with their judgments about common end-of-life scenarios in which dignity concepts may be relevant.

Duke Scholars

Published In

J Pain Symptom Manage

DOI

EISSN

1873-6513

Publication Date

September 2012

Volume

44

Issue

3

Start / End Page

331 / 339

Location

United States

Related Subject Headings

  • United States
  • Terminal Care
  • Right to Die
  • Religion
  • Physicians
  • Middle Aged
  • Male
  • Humans
  • Health Care Surveys
  • Female
 

Citation

APA
Chicago
ICMJE
MLA
NLM
Antiel, R. M., Curlin, F. A., James, K. M., Sulmasy, D. P., & Tilburt, J. C. (2012). Dignity in end-of-life care: results of a national survey of U.S. physicians. J Pain Symptom Manage, 44(3), 331–339. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2011.09.020
Antiel, Ryan M., Farr A. Curlin, Katherine M. James, Daniel P. Sulmasy, and Jon C. Tilburt. “Dignity in end-of-life care: results of a national survey of U.S. physicians.J Pain Symptom Manage 44, no. 3 (September 2012): 331–39. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2011.09.020.
Antiel RM, Curlin FA, James KM, Sulmasy DP, Tilburt JC. Dignity in end-of-life care: results of a national survey of U.S. physicians. J Pain Symptom Manage. 2012 Sep;44(3):331–9.
Antiel, Ryan M., et al. “Dignity in end-of-life care: results of a national survey of U.S. physicians.J Pain Symptom Manage, vol. 44, no. 3, Sept. 2012, pp. 331–39. Pubmed, doi:10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2011.09.020.
Antiel RM, Curlin FA, James KM, Sulmasy DP, Tilburt JC. Dignity in end-of-life care: results of a national survey of U.S. physicians. J Pain Symptom Manage. 2012 Sep;44(3):331–339.
Journal cover image

Published In

J Pain Symptom Manage

DOI

EISSN

1873-6513

Publication Date

September 2012

Volume

44

Issue

3

Start / End Page

331 / 339

Location

United States

Related Subject Headings

  • United States
  • Terminal Care
  • Right to Die
  • Religion
  • Physicians
  • Middle Aged
  • Male
  • Humans
  • Health Care Surveys
  • Female