The role of nurses in euthanasia: A scoping review

Filip Bellon; José Tomás Mateos; Roland Pastells-Peiró; Gemma Espigares-Tribó; Montserrat Gea-Sánchez; Esther Rubinat-Arnaldo

doi:10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2022.104286

The role of nurses in euthanasia: A scoping review

Int J Nurs Stud. 2022 Oct:134:104286. doi: 10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2022.104286. Epub 2022 May 26.

Authors

Filip Bellon¹, José Tomás Mateos², Roland Pastells-Peiró³, Gemma Espigares-Tribó⁴, Montserrat Gea-Sánchez⁵, Esther Rubinat-Arnaldo⁶

Affiliations

¹ GESEC group, Department of Nursing and Physiotherapy, Faculty of Nursing and Physiotherapy, University of Lleida, Montserrat Roig, 25198 Lleida, Spain; Healthcare Research Group (GRECS), Institute of Biomedical Research in Lleida (IRBLleida), Av. Alcalde Rovira Roure, 80, 25198 Lleida, Spain. Electronic address: filip.bellon@udl.cat.
² GESEC group, Department of Nursing and Physiotherapy, Faculty of Nursing and Physiotherapy, University of Lleida, Montserrat Roig, 25198 Lleida, Spain; Healthcare Research Group (GRECS), Institute of Biomedical Research in Lleida (IRBLleida), Av. Alcalde Rovira Roure, 80, 25198 Lleida, Spain. Electronic address: josetomas.mateos@udl.cat.
³ GESEC group, Department of Nursing and Physiotherapy, Faculty of Nursing and Physiotherapy, University of Lleida, Montserrat Roig, 25198 Lleida, Spain; Healthcare Research Group (GRECS), Institute of Biomedical Research in Lleida (IRBLleida), Av. Alcalde Rovira Roure, 80, 25198 Lleida, Spain. Electronic address: roland.pastells@udl.cat.
⁴ Càtedra DOTS-UdL, Chair in Development of Healthy Organizations and Territories, University of Lleida, Montserrat Roig, 25198 Lleida, Spain. Electronic address: gemma.espigares@udl.cat.
⁵ GESEC group, Department of Nursing and Physiotherapy, Faculty of Nursing and Physiotherapy, University of Lleida, Montserrat Roig, 25198 Lleida, Spain; Healthcare Research Group (GRECS), Institute of Biomedical Research in Lleida (IRBLleida), Av. Alcalde Rovira Roure, 80, 25198 Lleida, Spain. Electronic address: montse.gea@udl.cat.
⁶ GESEC group, Department of Nursing and Physiotherapy, Faculty of Nursing and Physiotherapy, University of Lleida, Montserrat Roig, 25198 Lleida, Spain; Healthcare Research Group (GRECS), Institute of Biomedical Research in Lleida (IRBLleida), Av. Alcalde Rovira Roure, 80, 25198 Lleida, Spain; Center for Biomedical Research on Diabetes and Associated Metabolic Diseases (CIBERDEM), Instituo de Salud Carlos III, 08907 Barcelona, Spain. Electronic address: esther.rubinat@udl.cat.

PMID: 35777169
DOI: 10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2022.104286

Abstract

Objective: To define the role and scope of nursing practice within the global context of the euthanasia process by reviewing international legislation and scientific literature.

Background: Euthanasia is a controversial ethical topic that has been widely discussed. The provision of euthanasia involves a multidisciplinary health care team, in which nurses often have secondary roles. However, nurses play key roles in all major healthcare processes. As increasing numbers of countries are currently regulating or considering the inclusion of euthanasia as a healthcare service, there is an urgent need to define nurses' roles and participation in this process.

Design: A scoping review of research published in English, Spanish, French, Dutch, or Portuguese between 1992 and April 2021 was undertaken. Medline (PubMed), CinahlPlus, EMBASE, WoS, PsycInfo, and Scopus were searched for eligible articles.

Methods: Data were analysed using an adapted version of Arksey and O'Malley's framework methodology. A total of 31 scientific papers, and 11 legislation documents were included.

Results: Analyses of current laws showed that few territories have legislation with well-defined nurses' roles. Based on the scientific research, we identified 15 roles and 80 tasks nurses assume during the euthanasia process. We divided our results into five categories: initial care and accompaniment, evaluation of patient's condition, euthanasia procedure, debriefing and notification, and overall role.

Conclusions: Nurses perform tasks throughout the euthanasia process. The review of the current legislation and the existing body of scientific literature showed a lack of legislation of the roles nurses assume, thus leading them to participate in practices outside of the legal framework. Policymakers should take into consideration the wide range of roles and tasks nurses assume in the provision of euthanasia to meet their educational and support needs and ensure they are effectively included in this complex process.

Keywords: Euthanasia; Nurse's role; Nursing; Review.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Euthanasia*
Humans
Nurse's Role