The attitudes of nursing students towards euthanasia

Uvod: V bližnji prihodnosti lahko v Sloveniji pričakujemo civilnodružbene pobude za legalizacijo evtanazije. Poznavanje stališč študentov zdravstvene nege do evtanazije je lahko v pomoč pristojnim deležnikom s področja zdravstvene nege pri oblikovanju ustreznih politik glede problematike evtanazije. Namen: Namen magistrskega dela je bil izdelati merilno skalo za merjenje stališč do aktivne prostovoljne evtanazije ter z njeno uporabo izmeriti stališča do evtanazije pri študentih zdravstvene nege na Zdravstveni fakulteti Univerze v Ljubljani. Metode dela: Na osnovi teoretičnih izhodišč smo izdelali spletni vprašalnik. V anketiranje je bila vključena celotna populacija študentov zdravstvene nege na Zdravstveni fakulteti Univerze v Ljubljani. Vprašalnik je izpolnilo 153 študentov, kar predstavlja 39,1 % populacije. Zbrane podatke smo statistično analizirali s pomočjo računalniškega programa SPSS. Uporabili smo statistične metode faktorska analiza, ugotavljanje razlik med aritmetičnimi sredinami in razvrščanje v skupine. Rezultati: Raziskava je pokazala, da je skoraj 70 % študentov naklonjenih evtanaziji, predvsem v dimenziji zakonsko-etična upravičenost evtanazije, malo manj pa v dimenziji negativni učinki legalizacije evtanazije. Anketirani izrazito močno podpirajo načelo avtonomije, saj jih je več kot 85 % izrazilo strinjanje s tem, da imamo ljudje pravico do evtanazije. Skoraj 87 % jih je mnenja, da v posebnih okoliščinah edinole evtanazija omogoča dostojanstveno smrt in 81 % jih je mnenja, da bi v takih okoliščinah za sebe zahtevali evtanazijo. Ugotovili smo, da sta religioznost in naklonjenost evtanaziji v obratnem sorazmerju. Skoraj 40 % študentov je menilo, da so premalo informirani o evtanaziji, da bi se lahko vključevali v razprave o njej. Razprava in zaključek: Raziskava je pokazala, da so študenti večinoma naklonjeni evtanaziji, a obenem se zavedajo, da bi lahko imela legalizacija evtanazije za družbo negativne učinke. Ta ugotovitev se ujema z rezultati predhodnih slovenskih raziskav. Ugotovljeno obratno sorazmerje med religioznostjo in naklonjenostjo evtanaziji se ujema z izsledki tujih študij. Primerjava rezultatov med raziskavami je otežkočena zaradi metodoloških razlik. Merilno skalo za merjenje stališč do evtanazije, ki smo jo izdelali v okviru magistrskega dela, bi bilo koristno uporabiti za raziskovanje stališč slovenskih medicinskih sester do evtanazije. Izobraževalne institucije bi morale več pozornosti nameniti problematiki evtanazije.Introduction: In the near future, we can expect in Slovenia civil society initiatives to legalize euthanasia. Knowing the attitudes of nursing students to euthanasia can help competent nursing stakeholders in shaping appropriate policies regarding euthanasia issues. Purpose: The purpose of the master thesis was to create a scale for measuring the attitudes towards an active voluntary euthanasia and to use it to measure attitudes towards euthanasia in students of nursing at the Faculty of Health Sciences of the University of Ljubljana. Methods: On the basis of theoretical starting points, we created an online questionnaire. The survey included the entire population of nursing students at the Faculty of Health Sciences of the University of Ljubljana. The questionnaire was filled out by 153 students, representing 39.1% of the population. The collected data were statistically analyzed using the SPSS computer program. We used statistical methods of factor analysis, determination of differences between arithmetic means and clustering. Results: The research has shown that almost 70% of students support euthanasia, especially in the dimension of the legal-ethical justification of euthanasia, and somewhat less in the dimension of the negative effects of the legalization of euthanasia. The respondents strongly support the principle of autonomy, as more than 85% of them have expressed their agreement that people have the right to euthanasia. Nearly 87% of them think that in specific circumstances, only euthanasia allows death with dignity, and 81% of them think that in such circumstances they would require euthanasia for themselves. We have found an inverse relationship between religiosity and affection for euthanasia. Nearly 40% of students considered that they are not sufficiently informed about euthanasia in order to be able to engage in discussions about it. Results: The research has shown that almost 70% of students support euthanasia, especially in the dimension of the legal-ethical justification of euthanasia, and somewhat less in the dimension of the negative effects of the legalization of euthanasia. The respondents strongly support the principle of autonomy, as more than 85% of them have expressed their agreement that people have the right to euthanasia. Nearly 87% of them think that in specific circumstances, only euthanasia allows death with dignity, and 81% of them think that in such circumstances they would require euthanasia for themselves. We have found inverse relationship between religiosity and affection for euthanasia. Nearly 40% of students considered that they are not sufficiently informed about euthanasia in order to be able to engage in discussions about it.Discussion and conclusion: The survey showed that most of the students support euthanasia, but at the same time they are aware that legalization of euthanasia could have negative effects on society as well. These findings are the same as the results of the previous Slovenian research. Our finding of an inverse relationship between religiosity and affection for euthanasia is consistent with the finding of foreign studies. Comparison of results between different studies is difficult due to methodological differences. It would be useful to use the measuring scale for measuring the attitudes towards euthanasia, which we developed in the framework of the master thesis, to explore the attitudes of Slovenian nurses towards euthanasia. Educational institutions should pay more attention to euthanasia