[Canada] Health leaders’ perspectives and attitudes on medical assistance in dying and its legalization: A qualitative study

[Canada] Health leaders’ perspectives and attitudes on medical assistance in dying and its legalization: A qualitative study
BMC Medical Ethics; by Amanda Yee, Eryn Tong, Rinat Nissim, Camilla Zimmermann, Sara Allin, Jennifer L Gibson, Madeline Li, Gary Rodin, Gilla K Shapiro; 5/25
This study highlights the wide-ranging and complex attitudes health leaders may hold towards MAiD [Medical Assistance in Dying] and identifies the convergence of multiple factors that may have contributed to the legalization of MAiD in Canada. Participants identified six factors that they believed to have led to the introduction of MAiD in Canada: public advocacy and influence; judicial system and notable MAiD legal cases; political ideology and landscape; policy diffusion; healthcare system emphasis on a patient-centred care approach; and changes in societal and cultural values. Participants expressed wide-ranging attitudes on the legalization of MAiD. Some described overall agreement with the introduction of MAiD, while still raising concerns regarding vulnerability. Others held neutral attitudes and indicated that their attitudes changed on a case-by-case basis. Participants described four factors that they considered to have had influence on their attitudes: personal illness experiences; professional experiences and identity; moral and religious beliefs; and, the valence of patient autonomy and quality of life.