A Qualitative Study On End-Stage Patients Choosing Death With Dignity In The Perspective Of Autonomy In China

The choice and dignity website describes the death with dignity as people give up resuscitation and the non-use of life support systems at the end of an incurable injury.Let death come not in advance,nor in delay,but in nature.In this process,patients at the end of life say goodbye to life with dignity as much as possible.The core of the death with dignity lies in its full respect for the autonomy of the patient,whether the patient chooses to continue treatment or give up treatment,as long as the choice are the patient’s true expression.People should have the right to choose the way of death without endangering the interests of society and others.The decision of the death with dignity not only fully respects the patient’s autonomy,improves the life quality of patients,maintains the patient’s life dignity,and realizes the optimization of patients’ interests;In addition,it will help solve the dilemma of the family members of the end-stage patients,and also guide the medical behaviors of doctors,realize the fair distribution of medical and health resources,and realize the great progress of the social economy.The right to choose death with dignity of patients in the end of life is the autonomy.In our country,the independent decision of the terminally ill patients to abandon the treatment and choose the dignity withe death often fails to be respected and protected.In medical practice in our country,because of the condition of secrecy provisions,the family members of patients with significant participation,the emotional instability of patients,and the lack of death education in our country,that patients in the end of life who want to choose dignity with death are unable to realize its autonomy.Therefore,the study is mainly from the perspective of autonomy,and the protection of patients’ autonomy is the theme throughout the whole thesis.This study around the respect for autonomy and improving the quality of life the end-stage patients,discuss legitimacy of death with dignity from the perspective ofethical and legal.through making interviews fifteen end-stage patients and their families with qualitative research methods,we find the end-stage patients may meet difficulties when they choose death with dignity in the perspective of autonomy,so we try to set up the death with dignity of system,which contains giving up care treatment by living wills to realize natural death,combining our country’s cultural background and the current situation.