Background Characteristics of Physician Respondents: Family Physicians With and Without VSED Experience
| Characteristic | Total (N = 708) | Experience With VSED (n = 313) | No Experience With VSED (n = 383) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Age, y | |||
| Mean (SD)a | 50 (8) | 52 (8) | 49 (9) |
| Range | 31–72 | 32–70 | 31–72 |
| Sex, male, % | 61 | 62 | 60 |
| Is religious, %b | 37 | 36 | 39 |
| Working experience as family physician, y | |||
| Mean (SD)a | 19 (9) | 20 (9) | 18 (9) |
| Range | 1–42 | 2–39 | 1–42 |
| Additional expertise, % | |||
| Received training in palliative carec | 73 | 75 | 72 |
| Palliative care consultant | 2 | 2 | 3 |
| Experiences with VSED, % | |||
| Experience with VSED | 46 | 100 | NA |
| Experience with VSED in the last year | 9 | 19 | NA |
| Palliative sedation in VSED, % | |||
| Has administered palliative sedation in case of VSED | 23 | 47 | NA |
| Conceivable to administer palliative sedation in case of VSEDa,d,e | 81 | 90 | 73 |
| PAS, % | |||
| Has performed PAS | 79 | 82 | 77 |
| Conceivable to perform PASd | 93 | 93 | 92 |
| VSED and PAS, % | |||
| Has ever suggested VSED to a patient with a wish for PASa | 34 | 49 | 21 |
NA = not applicable; PAS = physician-assisted suicide; VSED = voluntary stopping of eating and drinking.
Note: Missing values ranged from 1.0% to 3.8%, unless otherwise specified.
↵a Significant difference between respondents with experience with VSED and respondents without this experience, calculated by Fisher’s exact test (2-tailed) for dichotomous variables and by independent t test for continuous variables. P <.001 in all cases.
↵b As described by respondent. Religion was Christianity in 93% of cases.
↵c Not including regular curricular training.
↵d Physicians who had done so were categorized under conceivable.
↵e Missing values for 13.1%.