Medical students' opinions at euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide in Italy

To extend analysis of attitudes towards E/PAS in Italy, we have carried out a study on a convenience sample of fifth and sixth-year students (n=160, response rate = 76.2%, 59 males, 36.8% and 101 females, 63.2%; age = 24.81  1.61 years) at the Medical School, University of Ferrara, North-East Italy. Attitudes towards E/PAS were assessed by using the Euthanasia Attitude Questionnaire (EAQ), a 24-item instrument which measures the level of the respondent’s agreement on E/PAS through five factors: Global (general opinions towards E/PAS), Withholding (attitudes towards withholding-withdrawing of life-sustaining measures and use of opioid medications to relieve pain), Philosophical (philosophical deterrents of E/PAS), Legal (legal deterrents of E/PAS), Alternative (possible alternatives to PAS). Approximately one-fourth of the sample responded somewhat/strongly in favor to E/PAS (28.3%) (Global), while a higher percentage agreed in the possibility of withholding/withdrawing treatment (67.3%) (Withholding). About half of the students were somewhat/strongly agree that religious beliefs and Hippocratic oath deter physicians from facilitating patients’ death (Philosophical) (58.1%) and that more attention to the quality of life (Alternative) would eliminate the need for E/PAS (55.1%). One third of the sample were somewhat/strongly agree that fear of legal repercussion deter physicians from facilitating the patient’s death (Legal) (34%)