Two Years after Implementing Medical Assistance in Dying in Canada: Educational Needs of Health Care Professionals and the General Public

Author(s):  
Donna M Wilson
CMAJ Open ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. E190-E196
Author(s):  
Antoine Boivin ◽  
François-Pierre Gauvin ◽  
Geneviève Garnon ◽  
Agustina Gancia ◽  
Ghislaine Rouly ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Julie Allard ◽  
Fabian Ballesteros ◽  
Marie-Chantal Fortin

Abstract Background Medical assistance in dying (MAID) has been legal in Québec since December 2015 and in the rest of Canada since July 2016. Since then, more than 60 people have donated their organs after MAID. Such donations raise ethical issues about respect of patients’ autonomy, potential pressure to choose MAID, the information given to potential donors, the acceptability of directed donations in such a context and the possibility of death by donation. The objective of this study was to explore Québec professionals’ perspectives on the ethical issues related to organ donation after MAID. Methods We conducted semi-directed interviews with 21 health care professionals involved in organ donation such as intensivists and intensive care nurses, operating room nurses, organ donation nurses and coordinators. Results The participants were all favourable to organ donation after MAID in order to respect patients’ autonomy. They also favoured informing all potential donors of the possibility of donating organs. They highlighted the importance of assessing donors’ reasons for requesting MAID during the assessment. They were divided on directed donation, living donation before MAID and death by donation. Conclusion Organ donation after MAID was widely accepted among the participants, based on the principle of respect for the donor’s autonomy. The findings of this study only provide the perspectives of Québec health care professionals involved in organ donation. Future studies are needed to gather other stakeholders’ perspectives on this issue as well as patients’ and families’ experiences of organ donation after MAID.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anat Gesser-Edelsburg ◽  
Nour Abed Elhadi Shahbari ◽  
Ricky Cohen ◽  
Adva Mir Halavi ◽  
Rana Hijazi ◽  
...  

BACKGROUND In the new media age, the public searches for information both online and offline. Many studies have examined how the public reads and understands this information but very few investigate how people assess the quality of journalistic articles as opposed to information generated by health professionals. OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to examine how public health care workers (HCWs) and the general public seek, read, and understand health information and to investigate the criteria by which they assess the quality of journalistic articles. METHODS A Web-based nonprobability sampling questionnaire survey was distributed to Israeli HCWs and members of the public via 3 social media outlets: Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram. A total of 979 respondents participated in the online survey via the Qualtrics XM platform. RESULTS The findings indicate that HCWs find academic articles more reliable than do members of the general public (44.4% and 28.4%, respectively, P<.001). Within each group, we found disparities between the places where people search for information and the sources they consider reliable. HCWs consider academic articles to be the most reliable, yet these are not their main information sources. In addition, HCWs often use social networks to search for information (18.2%, P<.001), despite considering them very unreliable (only 2.2% found them reliable, P<.001). The same paradoxes were found among the general public, where 37.5% (P<.001) seek information via social networks yet only 8.4% (P<.001) find them reliable. Out of 6 quality criteria, 4 were important both to HCWs and to the general public. CONCLUSIONS In the new media age where information is accessible to all, the quality of articles about health is of critical importance. It is important that the criteria examined in this research become the norm in health writing for all stakeholders who write about health, whether they are professional journalists or citizen journalists writing in the new media.


2009 ◽  
Vol 27 (15_suppl) ◽  
pp. e17542-e17542 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. De Fusco ◽  
R. Chlebowski

e17542 Background: Tremendous advances in detection and treatment have improved breast cancer survival rates. However, with nearly 22.4 million people worldwide living with cancer, optimal survivorship care has become a major focus of health care professionals (HCPs) and patient advocates. The Breast Cancer Survivorship Alliance (BCSA) is a group of HCPs and patient advocates dedicated to enhancing patient survivorship care and encouraging HCPs to look beyond the diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer. Methods: To identify educational needs in breast cancer survivorship, a 25-question survey was fielded at the 2007 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium. Electronic and print surveys were available at the Y-Me National Breast Cancer Organization and AstraZeneca booths. Results: Of the 516 respondents, 29% were from the United States, 63% were from the rest of the world, and 8% did not specify a location. A total of 73% were physicians, 7% were oncology nurses, nurse practitioners, or physician assistants, and 20% represented other aspects of breast cancer care (e.g., advocates and patients). The survey revealed a lack of consensus on the definition of cancer survivor, with only 26% of respondents selecting the definition established by the National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship (ie, from the moment of cancer diagnosis and for the balance of life). More than half (i.e., 51%) defined cancer survivor as a patient who has been disease-free for 5 years. Overall wellness promotion, adherence, and management of treatment-related side effects were ranked as the 3 most essential aspects of survivorship care. While most practices engage in posttreatment survivorship counseling, only 16% provide patients with an end-of-treatment summary or survivorship care plan. Most respondents indicated that their institution has a survivorship program in place (39%) or in development (30%). Conclusions: Although progress has been made in understanding and implementing survivorship care, additional education is needed to optimize care of breast cancer survivors. [Table: see text]


2017 ◽  
Vol 43 (6) ◽  
pp. 551-564 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jane K. Dickinson ◽  
Susan J. Guzman ◽  
Melinda D. Maryniuk ◽  
Catherine A. O’Brian ◽  
Jane K. Kadohiro ◽  
...  

Language is powerful and can have a strong impact on perceptions as well as behavior. A task force, consisting of representatives from the American Association of Diabetes Educators and the American Diabetes Association, convened to discuss language in diabetes care and education. The literature supports the need for a language movement in diabetes care and education. There are effective ways of communicating about diabetes. This article provides recommendations for language used by health care professionals and others when discussing diabetes through spoken or written words, whether directed to people with diabetes, colleagues, or the general public, as well as research questions related to language and diabetes.


2003 ◽  
Vol 29 (3) ◽  
pp. 261-272 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Turner Goins ◽  
Sara Jane Gainor ◽  
Cecil Pollard ◽  
S. Melinda Spencer

Author(s):  
Nguyen Viet Hoang ◽  
◽  

Medical welfare are services provided to people with little or no fee, for the sake of a standardised health care for the general public. There are many methods are being implemented to achieve the goal of health welfare in Vietnam. These methods are being adopted simultaneously, including: (i) Investing in input resources to reduce costs; (ii) Incorporating public health services that are not provided by the private sector; (iii) providing support with health insurance and medical assistance. Healthcare welfare policies have exerted their effects on developing the national healthcare system. But, which require new modification and rectification for the sake of remarkable achievements in the future.


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