An increasing number of individuals with dementia express a wish for euthanasia, the deliberate act of terminating life through the administration of drugs, to hasten their death. Yet, physicians...Show moreAn increasing number of individuals with dementia express a wish for euthanasia, the deliberate act of terminating life through the administration of drugs, to hasten their death. Yet, physicians remain hesitant to perform the procedure. Research suggests that the emotional challenges of administering euthanasia contribute to this reluctance. In this cross-sectional study, multinominal logistic regression analyses were employed to assess whether physicians better equipped to handle these challenges through active coping strategies are more willing to administer euthanasia to dementia patients, as well as a potential mediating role of internal Locus of Control (LoC). The study involved 203 physicians (108 females, 95 males) from six countries (US, the Netherlands, Israel, Japan, Germany, Switzerland) who practice end-of-life care for dementia patients. Participants took part in a 60-minute assessment that included an animation video vignette to assess their opinions on euthanasia in dementia cases, as well as a survey. Contrary to expectations, no association was found between active coping strategies and physicians’ willingness to administer euthanasia in dementia cases (X² (2, N = 203) = 2.22, p = .33). There was also no relationship between internal LoC and physicians' willingness to administer euthanasia in dementia cases (X² (2, N = 203) = 0.07, p = .97), nor any mediation effect of internal LoC (R² = .005, p =.31). A positive correlation between active coping and internal LoC was observed (r = .12, p = .001). Additionally, post-hoc analyses revealed a significant influence of country on physicians’ willingness (X² (10, N = 203) = 33.56, p < .001). The findings of this study highlight the importance of exploring a broader range of factors influencing physicians’ willingness, such as experience with previous euthanasia requests, as well as the need for country-specific analyses. Future studies should adopt a multifactorial design to better understand the complexities of physicians' willingness to administer euthanasia in dementia cases.Show less
Itch or pruritus attains an innate defence mechanism of the body, serving as an alarm response to damage or harm. A selection of past research indicated that individuals experiencing pruritic...Show moreItch or pruritus attains an innate defence mechanism of the body, serving as an alarm response to damage or harm. A selection of past research indicated that individuals experiencing pruritic symptoms due to a dermatological condition, express selective attentional focus (attentional bias) towards itch. The alarming effect of a pruritic sensation, is potentially pursued by a fear response, which metamorphizes into anxiety. It is often suggested that heightened anxiety follows selective attention to the intimidating, theoretically provoking, stimulus. Anxiety aggravates itch, resulting in a vicious cycle, feasibly by potentiating itch-related anxiety. The rationale of this research lies in unravelling the impact of the psychopathological trait of anxiety, behind both attentional bias and pruritus. It is hypothesized that patients with chronic itch who experience heightened anxiety, report more attentional bias towards itch-related stimuli compared to less anxious patients with chronic itch. The sample consisted of 5 participants with chronic itch symptomatology that were assessed on a spatial cueing task. The statistical assessment was comprised of a mediation analysis. Our results were not in line with our hypothesis. In other words, a non-significant relationship was found between attentional bias and itch, attentional bias, and anxiety as well amongst anxiety and itch. Furthermore, we conclude that either our results do in fact reflect the reality of an inexistent relationship or that specific parameters of the methodology resulted in non-significant findings. Future implications are directed towards a more appropriate population sample and the careful consideration of exclusion criteria from the study.Show less
