| ISSUE SUMMARY |
| Disabilities Ethical History International Medical Psychological Religious |
U.S. Historical Perspective and Current Trends Alaska California California Death With Dignity Act Florida Hawaii Maine Michigan Proposal B - Michigan's Ballot Initiative on Assisted Suicide New Hampshire New Hampshire Aid-in-Dying Act New York Oregon 1st Annual Report on Oregon's Death With Dignity Act (1998) 2nd Annual Report on Oregon's Death With Dignity Act (1999) 3rd Annual Report on Oregon's Death With Dignity Act (2000) 4th Annual Report on Oregon's Death With Dignity Act (2001) 5th Annual Report on Oregon's Death With Dignity Act (2002) Eighth Annual Report on Assisted Suicide in Oregon. Executive Summary of the 5th Annual Report on Oregon's Death With Dignity Act (2002) How Do Oregon Psychologists View Their Role in Physician-Assisted Suicide? Measure 16 - Oregon Death With Dignity Act Oregon's Assisted Suicide Experience: Safeguards Don't Work Physician-Assisted Suicide: Reflections on Oregon's First Case The Oregon Report: Don't Ask, Don't Tell Vermont Washington |
How Do Oregon Psychologists View Their Role in Physician-Assisted Suicide? D.S. Fenn & L. Ganzini, How Do Oregon Psychologists View Their Role in Physician-assisted Suicide? 30 Professional Psychology: Research and Practice 235 (1999)Of the 846 licensed psychologists in Oregon, 625 were randomly selected by computerized random-number assignment to receive a mailed questionnaire. There were 423 final participants, 50% of all Oregon psychologists. The anonymous questionnaire contained both closed-choice and open-ended items that covered issues concerning physician-assisted suicide (PAS) mentioned in the scientific literature, lay press, and collegial discussions. The survey assessed personal views about PAS, the Oregon Death with Dignity Act (ODDA), the ODDA mental health safeguard, and the role of the psychologist in the ODDA. Most respondents (78%) favored the ODDA, and most (67%) considered the mental health safeguard adequate. But there was an association between a positive view of the safeguard and general support for the ODDA. Of the 275 psychologists surveyed who indicated performing an evaluation under the ODDA would be within their scope of practice, only 60% indicated that they would perform the evaluation. When placed in the context of a single evaluation, 50% of respondents replied that they were "not at all confident" in the results of their evaluation, with only 7% indicating that they were "very confident." Overall, 62% reported that they would provide the assessment to the referring physician and then take no further action; 28% would support the patient through the rest of the process; and 10% would work with the patient to prevent the suicide. The perceived role of the psychologist and confidence in the evaluation correlated with support or opposition of the ODDA, such that those opposed were more likely to see their role as working to prevent the suicide and felt more uncomfortable with the validity of an assessment after a single evaluation. Posted on June 26, 2004. |