None listed
Conditions
Brief summary
The goal is to understand clinical factors in euthanasia requests. We hypothesise that a proportion of euthanasia requests are driven by potentially reversible factors such as depression, decline in physical mobility or social isolation. By understanding the factors that affect euthanasia attitudes we can treat the possible reversible causes. This will mean that when a person requests euthanasia informally or formally, clinicians will be able to assess a number of reversible causes in order to provide treatment for the patient. Examples of this may include but is not limited to: improving mobility, improving social isolation or treating mental illness.
Interventions
Participants will be enrolled from Older Person's Mental Health Service (OPMHS). Regardless of whetehr the participant chooses to enrol they will be treated by the OPMHS. They will complete questionnaires regarding demographics, personality (Ten Item Personality Inventory), mood (K10), euthanasia attitudes (Attitudes Towards Euthanasia Scale), attitudes towards suicide (Attitudes Towards Suicide Scale), feelings of burdensomeness (Interpersonal Needs Questionnaire-6 item burdensome subset) and q
Participants will be enrolled from Older Person's Mental Health Service (OPMHS). Regardless of whetehr the participant chooses to enrol they will be treated by the OPMHS. They will complete questionnaires regarding demographics, personality (Ten Item Personality Inventory), mood (K10), euthanasia attitudes (Attitudes Towards Euthanasia Scale), attitudes towards suicide (Attitudes Towards Suicide Scale), feelings of burdensomeness (Interpersonal Needs Questionnaire-6 item burdensome subset) and quality of life (Quality Of Life Scale). This is projected to take a total of 60 minutes. They will then be treated by their service for 6 months, and the same questionnaires will then be repeated. Scores will be compared for significance. The patients will complete these questionnaires on a computer. Whether this is an emailed link to their personal computer with internet access or a computer set up in the service is their preference. There will be no assistance to complete the questionnaires from researchers in either case. This is observational in nature as the research is not changing intervention of depression, rather taking a naturalistic view of the typical treatment process of depression. Typically treatment provided for depression would be specific to the patient. This may include social support, antidepressant prescription, psychological therapies, Exercise Programs and family support.
Sponsors
Adjunct Associate Professor Chanaka Wijeratne
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
All
Age
65 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
Age 65+ Absence of cognitive and functional impairment (MMSE greater than or equal to 24) Diagnosis of depression by older person’s mental health service at Royal North Shore No active malignancy, neurological disease or other disease that may be considered terminal Absence of psychosis
Exclusion criteria
Psychosis in context of primary psychotic illness or depression Active drug or alcohol dependence
Outcome results
None listed