Bioethics: occupational therapy attitudes toward the prolongation of life

A comprehensive array of bioethical issues have emerged from advances in biological technology. This report assesses the views of individuals at three occupational therapy levels concerning one such issue: The option of painless death for the incurable. A battery of measures used to study beliefs in occupational therapy students included an item dealing with euthanasia. Item analysis revealed that the mean response to the euthanasia item by groups of occupational therapy juniors, seniors, and supervising clinicians from two schools indicated approval of voluntary painless death for the incurably ill. The article concludes with a discussion of the inclusion of bioethical issues in occupational therapy educational programs.