Opinions of the Dutch public on palliative sedation: a mixed-methods approach.

Background: Palliative sedation is defined as deliberately lowering a patient’s consciousness, to relieve intolerable suffering from refractory symptoms at the end of life. Palliative sedation is considered a last resort intervention in end-of-life care that should not be confused with euthanasia. Aim: To inform healthcare professionals about attitudes of the general public regarding palliative sedation. Design and setting: A cross-sectional survey among members of the Dutch general public followed by qualitative interviews. Method: One thousand nine hundred and sixty members of the general public completed the questionnaire, which included a vignette describing palliative sedation (response rate 78%); 16 participants were interviewed. Results: In total, 22% of the responders indicated knowing the term ‘palliative sedation’. Qualitative data showed a variety of interpretations of the term. Eighty-one per cent of the responders agreed with the provision of sedatives as described in a vignette of a patient with untreatable pain and a life expectancy of <1 week who received sedatives to alleviate his suffering. This percentage was somewhat lower for a patient with a life expectancy of