Indian Nurses' Attitudes Toward Euthanasia: Gender Differences

The debate about euthanasia continues worldwide, with nurses' attitudes becoming increasingly more important. The aim of this study is to investigate gender differences among nurses' perceptions of attitudes toward euthanasia. A nonprobability quantitative, cross-sectional design was carried out among nurses working at a tertiary care center. Data were collected through self-reported questionnaires at their work place. Significant differences were found between men and women to the items such as "Fear of death shows differences due to religious beliefs" (χ²= 10.550, p < 0.05), "If patient wants euthanasia, nutrition support should be stopped" (χ²= 12.209, p < 0.05), "CPR should not be applied in case of sudden respiration and heart stop" (χ²= 9.591, p < 0.05), and "burden for relatives to take care of a patient who is in terminal period and who will die" (χ²= 9.069, p < 0.05). The present study depicts that gender plays an important role in euthanasia; hence, the researchers strongly suggest that there is an urgent need to draft uniform guidelines after wide consultation with all the stake holders regarding nurses' role in taking care of patients who request euthanasia, to face these situations effectively and competently within professional boundaries.