Australian and New Zealand psychiatrists' and psychiatry trainees' knowledge and views on voluntary assisted dying.

Abstract

ObjectiveVoluntary assisted dying (VAD) in Australia and New Zealand is reserved for terminally ill individuals experiencing unbearable suffering. This study investigated the knowledge and views of Australian and New Zealand psychiatrists and trainees on VAD, including for mental illnesses, and whether these knowledge and views differ between psychiatrists and trainees.MethodsParticipants completed an online survey consisting of 18 questions between March and June 2024. The survey was distributed via various Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists newsletters and through snowballing.ResultsOne hundred and sixty-four psychiatrists and sixty-five trainees were included. Psychiatrists tended to be more confident in their knowledge of VAD, less willing to be involved with VAD and more conservative in their views of VAD than trainees: 26.8% of psychiatrists and 10.8% of trainees strongly agreed that the criteria for VAD will progressively broaden (p < .047).ConclusionDifferences in experience may explain some of these distinctions; however, other factors are likely to have been influential in explaining these differences. Given the increasingly liberalised and autonomous social landscape, Australian and New Zealand psychiatry should prepare themselves for the ethical question of VAD for mental illnesses that will inevitably arise.