The role of nurses in euthanasia: A scoping review

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.