2000 Fiscal Year Final Research Report Summary
Withdrawing Artificial Food and Fluid from Terminally Ill Patients : An Ethical Dilemma for Nurses and Families
| Project/Area Number |
11672345
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
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| Allocation Type | Single-year Grants |
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| Section | 一般 |
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| Research Field |
基礎・地域看護学
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| Research Institution | Nagano College of Nursing |
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Principal Investigator |
DAVIS Anne j. Nagano College of Nursing, School of Nursing, Professor, 看護学部, 教授 (70291573)
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| Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha) |
YAHIRO Michiko Nagano College of Nursing, School of Nursing, Assistant, 看護学部, 助手 (10326100)
KUBOTA Chie Nagano College of Nursing, School of Nursing, Assistant, 看護学部, 助手 (20322357)
KONISHI Emiko Nagano College of Nursing, School of Nursing, Professor, 看護学部, 教授 (70011054)
MITOU Takako Nagano College of Nursing, School of Nursing, Dean, 看護学部, 学長 (00086266)
MAYUMI Naoya Nagano College of Nursing, School of Nursing, Assistant, 看護学部, 助手 (10315848)
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| Project Period (FY) |
1999 – 2000
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| Keywords | Artificial food and fluid / Terminall ill patient / Ethical dilemma / Japanese nurses |
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| Research Abstract |
End-of-life issues have become an urgent problem in Japan where people live the longest in the world, and most of them die connected to highly developed medical technology. This study examines a sensitive end-of-life ethical issue that concerns patient, families, and nurses : the withdrawal of artificial food and fluid from terminally ill patients. A sample of 160 Japanese nurses, who completed the questionnaire that included force-choice and open-ended questions, supported this act under only two specific conditions : if the patient requested it, and if this act relieved the patient's suffering. Doctor's order, family's request, or patient's old age did not ethically justify this act. A small number of family members, who recently had lost their relatives, responded to semi-structured interviews and talked about their experiences of having their terminally ill relatives given artificial food and fluid. Ethical, social, and cultural factors in this issue are discussed.
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