Is attitude towards euthanasia same among medical, nursing, and law students?

Background and objective: Euthanasia is one of the most controversial ethical issues. There is no available data about attitudes towards euthanasia among Iranian society. This research was conducted among medical, nursing, and law students to find out theoretical and practical connection of these fields with euthanasia. Materials and methods: In this cross-sectional analytical study, attitudes of ۲۴۳ senior students of medicine, nursing, and law were evaluated between January ۲۰۱۵ and February ۲۰۱۶ by using Euthanasia Attitude Scale (EAS) questionnaire classified in four factors of ethical consideration, practical consideration, treasuring life, and naturalistic beliefs. Results and conclusion: Mean of attitude towards euthanasia was ۴۴.۱ ±۱۶.۲. Score of ۴۹.۳%, ۵۰.۶%, and ۴۴.۷ % of medical, nursing, and law students was above the mean, respectively. Except for marital status that had a significant association with naturalistic beliefs, there was no significant association between other demographic variables (field of study, age, and gender) and the attitudes towards euthanasia. The results of this study showed a negative attitude of the students towards most aspects of EAS and a relatively negative attitude towards Euthanasia.

Keywords:

Attitude , Euthanasia , ethics , senior student