Impact of Medical Assistance in Dying on palliative care: A qualitative study

BackgroundMedical assistance in dying (MAiD) traverses challenging and emotionally overwhelming territories: healthcare providers (HCPs) across jurisdictions experience myriad of affective responses secondary to possible tensions between normative and interwoven values, such as sanctity of life, dignity in death and dying and duty to care.ObjectiveTo determine the emotional impact on HCPs involved in MAiD.MethodsInclusion restricted to English language qualitative research studies from four databases (OVID Medline, EMBASE, CINAHL and Scopus), from beginning until 30 April 2021, and grey literature up to August 2021 were searched. Key author, citation and reference searches were undertaken. We excluded studies without rigorous qualitative research methodology. Included studies were critically appraised using the Joanna Briggs Institute’s critical appraisal tool. Analysis was conducted using thematic meta-synthesis. The cumulative evidence was assessed for confidence using the Confidence in the Evidence from Reviews of Qualitative Research approach.ResultsThe search identified 4522 papers. Data from 35 studies (393 physicians, 169 nurses, 53 social workers, 22 allied healthcare professionals) employing diverse qualitative research methodologies from five countries were coded and analysed. The thematic meta-synthesis showed three descriptive emotional themes: (1) polarised emotions including moral distress (n=153), (2) reflective emotions with MAiD as a ‘sense-making process’ (n=251), and (3) professional value-driven emotions (n=352).DiscussionThis research attempts to answer the question, ‘what it means at an emotional level’, for a MAiD practitioner. Legislation allowing MAiD for terminal illness only influences the emotional impact: MAiD practitioners under this essential criterion experience more polarised emotions, whereas those practising in jurisdictions with greater emphasis on allaying intolerable suffering experience more reflective emotions. MAiD practitioner’s professional values and their degree of engagement influence the emotional impact, which may help structure future support networks. English language literature restriction and absence of subgroup analyses limit the generalisability of results.

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“…Dimension 3: Emotions that resonate with professional values ( studies referenced 28 30 34 39 47–61 )…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Emotional impact on healthcare providers involved in medical assistance in dying (MAiD): a systematic review and qualitative meta-synthesis

2022

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“…From a systems perspective, many were struggling to set up processes that ensured patient-centered care and accessibility [19], particularly in light of the limited numbers of assessors and providers available [20], and the heavy workloads on those who were willing and able to provide MAID services [21]. Accessibility to MAID was influenced by the sometime contentious relationship between those care providers involved in MAID and those in palliative care [19,22,23]. There was a need to support healthcare providers involved in MAID in light of the emotional impact [20,24,25] and a need to provide healthcare providers with the knowledge and skills to assist with, or to assess and provide, MAID, particularly in light of vague eligibility criteria [20,26,27].…”

Section: Request Signed By One Independent Witnessmentioning

confidence: 99%

Navigating medical assistance in dying from Bill C-14 to Bill C-7: a qualitative study

Pesut

Thorne

Wright

et al. 2021

BMC Health Serv Res

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Background Even as healthcare providers and systems were settling into the processes required for Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID) under Bill C-14, new legislation was introduced (Bill C-7) that extended assisted death to persons whose natural death is not reasonably foreseeable. The purpose of this paper is to describe the experiences of nurses and nurse practitioners with the implementation and ongoing development of this transition. Methods This qualitative longitudinal descriptive study gathered data through semi-structured telephone interviews with nurses from across Canada; cross sectional data from 2020 to 2021 is reported here. The study received ethical approval and all participants provided written consent. Findings Participants included nurses (n = 34) and nurse practitioners (n = 16) with significant experience with MAID. Participants described how MAID had transitioned from a new, secretive, and anxiety-producing procedure to one that was increasingly visible and normalized, although this normalization did not necessarily mitigate the emotional impact. MAID was becoming more accessible, and participants were learning to trust the process. However, the work was becoming increasingly complex, labour intensive, and often poorly remunerated. Although many participants described a degree of integration between MAID and palliative care services, there remained ongoing tensions around equitable access to both. Participants described an evolving gestalt of determining persons’ eligibility for MAID that required a high degree of clinical judgement. Deeming someone ineligible was intensely stressful for all involved and so participants had learned to be resourceful in avoiding this possibility. The required 10-day waiting period was difficult emotionally, particularly if persons worried about losing capacity to give final consent. The implementation of C-7 was perceived to be particularly challenging due to the nature of the population that would seek MAID and the resultant complexity of trying to address the origins of their suffering within a resource-strapped system. Conclusions Significant social and system calibration must occur to accommodate assisted death as an end-of-life option. The transition to offering MAID for those whose natural death is not reasonably foreseeable will require intensive navigation of a sometimes siloed and inaccessible system. High quality MAID care should be both relational and dialogical and those who provide such care require expert communication skills and knowledge of the healthcare system.

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“…With notable exceptions, 2,3 one complex and underrecognized issue in the empirical literature is how MAiD legalization affects endoflife care discussions, particularly among palliative care providers (PCPs). 4 This is an important area for practice consideration, given that changes in endoflife care discussions can impact ongoing delivery of care, as the direc tion of these conversations may affect whether palliative care and related social support services would be further explored with patients. 5 This paper reports findings from interviews with multidisciplinary PCPs on how MAiD enquiries affect endoflife care conversations.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

How does Medical Assistance in Dying affect end-of-life care planning discussions? Experiences of Canadian multidisciplinary palliative care providers

Norman

Joolaee

et al. 2021

Palliat�Care

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Background: More than a dozen countries have now legalized some form of assisted dying, and additional jurisdictions are considering similar legislations or expanding eligibility criteria. Despite the persistent controversies about the relationship between medicine, palliative care, and assisted dying, many people are interested in assisted dying. Understanding how end-of-life care discussions between patients and specialist palliative care providers may be affected by such legislation can inform end-of-life care delivery in the evolving socio-cultural and legal environment. Aim: To explore how the Canadian Medical Assistance in Dying legislation affects end-of-life care discussions between patients and multidisciplinary specialist palliative care providers. Design: Qualitative thematic analysis of semi-structured interviews. Participants: Forty-eight specialist palliative care providers from Vancouver (n = 26) and Toronto ( n = 22) were interviewed in person or by phone. Participants included physicians ( n = 22), nurses ( n = 15), social workers ( n = 7), and allied health professionals ( n = 4). Results: Qualitative thematic analysis identified five notable considerations associated with Medical Assistance in Dying affecting end-of-life care discussions: (1) concerns over having proactive conversations about the desire to hasten death, (2) uncertainties regarding wish-to-die statements, (3) conversation complexities around procedural matters, (4) shifting discussions about suffering and quality of life, and (5) the need and challenges of promoting open-ended discussions. Conclusion: Medical Assistance in Dying challenges end-of-life care discussions and requires education and support for all concerned to enable compassionate health professional communication. It remains essential to address psychosocial and existential suffering in medicine, but also to provide timely palliative care to ensure suffering is addressed before it is deemed irremediable. Hence, clarification is required regarding assisted dying as an intervention of last resort. Furthermore, professional and institutional guidance needs to better support palliative care providers in maintaining their holistic standard of care.

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Impact of Medical Assistance in Dying on palliative care: A qualitative study

Cited by 39 publications

References 31 publications

Emotional impact on healthcare providers involved in medical assistance in dying (MAiD): a systematic review and qualitative meta-synthesis

Emotional impact on healthcare providers involved in medical assistance in dying (MAiD): a systematic review and qualitative meta-synthesis

Navigating medical assistance in dying from Bill C-14 to Bill C-7: a qualitative study

How does Medical Assistance in Dying affect end-of-life care planning discussions? Experiences of Canadian multidisciplinary palliative care providers

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