Cancer and ALS are the main reasons people use voluntary assisted dying

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2024-12-10 03:00

Australia; International; VIC; QLD; SA; WA; TAS

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A global comparison of voluntary assisted dying use which includes Australia, has found a substantial difference in its use depending on the underlying disease. While cancer was the underlying disease present for most recipients (66.5%), people dying of ALS were more likely to receive voluntary assisted dying than people with cancer, while people with other nervous system diseases, respiratory system diseases, and circulatory system diseases were less likely to use voluntary assisted dying than people with cancer. The study found the relative proportion of voluntary assisted dying rates by disease was remarkably similar across jurisdictions.

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Research JAMA, Web page Please link to the article in online versions of your report (the URL will go live after the embargo ends).

Journal/
conference: JAMA Internal Medicine

Research:Paper

Organisation/s: Queensland University of Technology (QUT), University of Ottawa, Canada

Funder: Dr Close reported grants from the Australian Research Council outside the submitted work; and was employed on projects funded by the state governments of Victoria,Western Australia, and Queensland to design the mandatory legal training for practitioners providing voluntary assisted dying. Dr Pope reported personal fees from Yale University, University of Minnesota, Completed Life Initiative, Ohio Health, and UpToDate outside the submitted work. Dr Downar reported honoraria from Joule and is a former unpaid advisor to Dying With Dignity Canada. No other disclosures were reported.

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