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Attitudes of Quebec doctors toward sedation at the end of life: An exploratory study

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  30 September 2009

Danielle Blondeau ,
Serge Dumont ,
Louis Roy  and
Isabelle Martineau
Danielle Blondeau*
Affiliation:
Faculty of Nursing, Pavillon Ferdinand-Vandry, Université Laval, Québec City, Québec, Canada
Serge Dumont
Affiliation:
School of Social Work, Université Laval, Québec City, Québec, Canada
Louis Roy
Affiliation:
Centre hospitalier universitaire de Québec, Pavillon Hôtel-Dieu de Québec, Quebéc City, Quebéc, Canada
Isabelle Martineau
Affiliation:
Maison Michel-Sarrazin, Québec City, Québec, Canada
*
Address correspondence and reprint requests to: Danielle Blondeau, Faculty of Nursing, Pavillon Ferdinand-Vandry, Université Laval, Quebec City, QC G1V 0A6, Canada. E-mail: [email protected]
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Abstract

Objective:

The induction of sedation at the end of life is a much debated practice and not very documented. The goal of this study was to explore the practice from both a clinical and ethical point of view.

Methods:

Data were collected through semistructured interviews with 19 Quebec physicians working in palliative care.

Results:

Doctors' first priority was their patients, not patients' families. Clinically, the therapeutic aim of sedation was strictly to relieve suffering on the part of the patient. Ethically, getting the patient's consent was imperative. The family's consent was only required in cases of incapacity. Generally, sedation and euthanasia were seen as two distinct practices.

Significance of the research:

There are still very few guidelines regarding end-of-life sedation in Québec, and its normative framework is more implicit than explicit. It should be noted that most of the respondents regarded sedation and euthanasia as two distinct practices.

Keywords

End of lifeSedationEthical issuesExistential sufferingEuthanasia
Type
Original Articles
Information
Palliative & Supportive Care , Volume 7 , Issue 3 , September 2009 , pp. 331 - 337
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2009

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