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Centre for Policy on Ageing | |
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Suffering, loneliness, and the euthanasia choice
— an explorative study | | Author(s) | Berna van Baarsen |
| Journal title | Journal of Social Work in End-of-life & Palliative Care, vol 4, no 3, 2008 |
| Publisher | Haworth Social Work Practice Press, Binghamton, NY, 2008 |
| Pages | pp 189-213 |
| Source | http://www.tandfonline.com |
| Keywords | Pain ; Loneliness ; Euthanasia ; Social surveys ; Netherlands. |
| Annotation | The present study discusses the dilemma of how to interpret the hopeless and unbearable suffering of others, particularly regarding physician-assisted death (PAD) in the Netherlands. Respondents who were very likely to request euthanasia were included (N = 175). Research questions were: What can we say about the relationship between somatic suffering and emotional suffering? and How does loneliness and suffering relate to each other? Questions regarding (chronic) disease, loneliness, and somatic and emotional pain were included. Results showed that, first, judgments about pain seemed highly dependent on the type and level of pain that had been experienced. Second, emotional loneliness appeared to be a strong cause of emotional pain, also in terms of hopelessness and "unbearableness." The findings are discussed in the light of the present social debate on PAD and palliative and end-of-life care decisions. (KJ/RH). |
| Accession Number | CPA-090731212 A |
| Classmark | CT7: DV: CY: 3F: 76H |
Data © Centre for Policy on Ageing |
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| ...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing. |
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