A influência dos casos particulares na aceitação da morte antecipada por alunos de 5ºano de Medicina

Abstract

Introduction: Early death is an increasingly topic discussed in Portugal. There seems to be evidence that the acceptance of euthanasia varies depending on a particular case. Our study aimed to explore the perceptions of future doctors about the acceptance of early death in specific and general situations; and to provide contributions with practical implications for health professionals and the general population. Material and methods: Cross-sectional, non-experimental and descriptive study. The sample of 165 students from the 5th year of medicine at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Porto was divided into two groups. One group expressed its agreement with the applicability of euthanasia in general cases and the other group in specific cases. Descriptive statistical analyzes were carried out to characterize the sample and Mann-Whitney test used to compare between groups. P-value values ≤ 0.05 were considered statistically significant. Results: The majority of the sample agreed with the legalization of euthanasia (n = 100). The average degree of agreement of the answers is in most cases higher in the group of specific cases. In 3 of the 6 cases, there was statistically significant evidence that agreement with euthanasia is different between general and specific cases. Discussion: The tendency for doctors to agree with the practice of euthanasia is increasing. Patient suffer, physically or emotionally, with an abrupt decrease in quality of its life is a major reason for a future doctor to practice euthanasia. A clear standard of acceptability for euthanasia practice has not been defined. Conclusion: It only makes sense to discuss early death on a case-by-case basis, from an individual perspective. Public opinion should not trivialize this topic and it should never underestimate the opinion of its main intervenients - doctors.