The preliminary opinion of Canadian spine surgeons on Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID); a cross-sectional survey of Canadian Spine Society (CSS) members
Background: On June 17, 2016, providing medical assistance in dying became legal in Canada. This controversial change has had reverberating implications for the entire medical community. This is especially true for physicians that regularly deal with end-of-life decisions, among them neurosurgical a...
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doaj-4ae82303634242e5aaf19225ad16052a2021-06-08T04:43:58ZengElsevierNorth American Spine Society Journal2666-54842020-12-014100037The preliminary opinion of Canadian spine surgeons on Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID); a cross-sectional survey of Canadian Spine Society (CSS) membersErika Leck0Sean Christie1Tricia Barry2Sean Barry3Dalhousie University, Faculty of Medicine, Halifax, Nova Scotia B3H 4R2, Canada; Nova Scotia Health Authority Department of Surgery, Division of Neurosurgery, 1796 Summer Street, Halifax Infirmary, Halifax, Nova scotia B3H 3A6, CanadaDalhousie University, Faculty of Medicine, Halifax, Nova Scotia B3H 4R2, Canada; Nova Scotia Health Authority Department of Surgery, Division of Neurosurgery, 1796 Summer Street, Halifax Infirmary, Halifax, Nova scotia B3H 3A6, CanadaNova Scotia Health Authority Department of Surgery, Division of Neurosurgery, 1796 Summer Street, Halifax Infirmary, Halifax, Nova scotia B3H 3A6, CanadaDalhousie University, Faculty of Medicine, Halifax, Nova Scotia B3H 4R2, Canada; Nova Scotia Health Authority Department of Surgery, Division of Neurosurgery, 1796 Summer Street, Halifax Infirmary, Halifax, Nova scotia B3H 3A6, Canada; Corresponding author at: Dalhousie University, Faculty of Medicine, Halifax, Nova Scotia B3H 4R2, Canada.Background: On June 17, 2016, providing medical assistance in dying became legal in Canada. This controversial change has had reverberating implications for the entire medical community. This is especially true for physicians that regularly deal with end-of-life decisions, among them neurosurgical and orthopedic spine surgeons, whose patients suffer from a variety of debilitating conditions. With this study we sought to document the opinions of Canadian spine surgeons in hopes of better understanding the sentiment within the speciality towards this change and assess how it evolves over time. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was sent out to members of the Canadian Spine Society (CSS). The survey encompassed 21 questions pertaining to opinions and attitudes regarding MAID and different facets of the legislation. Results: A total of 51 surgeons responded to the survey, comprised of a mix of orthopedic surgeons (68.6%), pediatric orthopedic surgeons (5.9%), and neurosurgeons (21.6%), practicing all across Canada. The majority support the patients’ right to obtain MAID (62.8%) and the right of physicians to participate (82.4%). Most also support the right to conscientious objection (90.1%). The results were split on duty to refer patients for MAID (49.0%). Respondents were also divided on whether they could foresee themselves referring to a MAID service, with 37.2% responding yes. A small minority of respondents (3.9%) felt they could see themselves actively involved in MAID. Conclusions: At the advent of legal MAID, the majority of members of the CSS supported both the right of patients to participate in MAID and the right of physicians to provide this service if they so choose, while still respecting the principle of conscientious objection. Of note, only a small minority were willing to be actively involved. This survey provides a useful baseline of opinions in this practice area and will be used to analyze changes over the next 10 years.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666548420300378Medical assistance in dyingSpine surgeryEthicsCanadaPolicy |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Erika Leck Sean Christie Tricia Barry Sean Barry |
spellingShingle |
Erika Leck Sean Christie Tricia Barry Sean Barry The preliminary opinion of Canadian spine surgeons on Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID); a cross-sectional survey of Canadian Spine Society (CSS) members North American Spine Society Journal Medical assistance in dying Spine surgery Ethics Canada Policy |
author_facet |
Erika Leck Sean Christie Tricia Barry Sean Barry |
author_sort |
Erika Leck |
title |
The preliminary opinion of Canadian spine surgeons on Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID); a cross-sectional survey of Canadian Spine Society (CSS) members |
title_short |
The preliminary opinion of Canadian spine surgeons on Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID); a cross-sectional survey of Canadian Spine Society (CSS) members |
title_full |
The preliminary opinion of Canadian spine surgeons on Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID); a cross-sectional survey of Canadian Spine Society (CSS) members |
title_fullStr |
The preliminary opinion of Canadian spine surgeons on Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID); a cross-sectional survey of Canadian Spine Society (CSS) members |
title_full_unstemmed |
The preliminary opinion of Canadian spine surgeons on Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID); a cross-sectional survey of Canadian Spine Society (CSS) members |
title_sort |
preliminary opinion of canadian spine surgeons on medical assistance in dying (maid); a cross-sectional survey of canadian spine society (css) members |
publisher |
Elsevier |
series |
North American Spine Society Journal |
issn |
2666-5484 |
publishDate |
2020-12-01 |
description |
Background: On June 17, 2016, providing medical assistance in dying became legal in Canada. This controversial change has had reverberating implications for the entire medical community. This is especially true for physicians that regularly deal with end-of-life decisions, among them neurosurgical and orthopedic spine surgeons, whose patients suffer from a variety of debilitating conditions. With this study we sought to document the opinions of Canadian spine surgeons in hopes of better understanding the sentiment within the speciality towards this change and assess how it evolves over time. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was sent out to members of the Canadian Spine Society (CSS). The survey encompassed 21 questions pertaining to opinions and attitudes regarding MAID and different facets of the legislation. Results: A total of 51 surgeons responded to the survey, comprised of a mix of orthopedic surgeons (68.6%), pediatric orthopedic surgeons (5.9%), and neurosurgeons (21.6%), practicing all across Canada. The majority support the patients’ right to obtain MAID (62.8%) and the right of physicians to participate (82.4%). Most also support the right to conscientious objection (90.1%). The results were split on duty to refer patients for MAID (49.0%). Respondents were also divided on whether they could foresee themselves referring to a MAID service, with 37.2% responding yes. A small minority of respondents (3.9%) felt they could see themselves actively involved in MAID. Conclusions: At the advent of legal MAID, the majority of members of the CSS supported both the right of patients to participate in MAID and the right of physicians to provide this service if they so choose, while still respecting the principle of conscientious objection. Of note, only a small minority were willing to be actively involved. This survey provides a useful baseline of opinions in this practice area and will be used to analyze changes over the next 10 years. |
topic |
Medical assistance in dying Spine surgery Ethics Canada Policy |
url |
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666548420300378 |
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