Professor Ben White1, Ms Ruthie Jeanneret1, Professor Lindy Willmott1, Dr Eliana Close1
1Australian Centre For Health Law Research, QUT, Australia
This presentation will report on findings from semi-structured qualitative interviews with patients and families about their experience of using, or seeking to use, Victoria’s voluntary assisted dying system. It is part of a 4-year Australian Research Council Future Fellowship study on optimal regulation of voluntary assisted dying.
Participants will be recruited through a range of public forums (e.g. Twitter, posting flyers) and through advocacy and support groups for terminally-ill patients. Purposive sampling will be employed to ensure diverse perspectives of those seeking access to voluntary assisted dying are captured. Interviews will be conducted over Zoom and thematically analysed. ‘Regulatory space theory’, which looks beyond law and aims to integrate all regulatory forces including policy, ethical guidelines and training, will guide the analysis.
Results are not available at the time of abstract submission but domains to be explored include: knowledge of being able to request voluntary assisted dying, being able to find a doctor who would support them in the process, their experience of the request and assessment process, decisions about medication administration, and their overall assessment of the system and their experience in seeking voluntary assisted dying.
This research has implications for the effectiveness of Victoria’s voluntary assisted dying system and for other jurisdictions implementing similar laws. Proposals for changes to law and practice will be proposed to enhance the useability of the system for patients and their families, while still ensuring the safety of the system.
Biography:
Ben White is a Professor of End-of-Life Law and Regulation and an ARC Future Fellow in the Australian Centre for Health Law Research at QUT. He researches end-of-life decision-making with a particular focus on regulation of voluntary assisted dying.