{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,23]],"date-time":"2026-10-23T07:49:50Z","timestamp":1792741790487,"version":"4.5.0"},"reference-count":18,"publisher":"BMJ","issue":"6","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,6,3]],"date-time":"2025-06-03T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1748908800000},"content-version":"unspecified","delay-in-days":2,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100001837","name":"Eesti Teadusfondi","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["#GMVPT24091PR."],"award-info":[{"award-number":["#GMVPT24091PR."]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100001837","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":["bmj.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["BMJ Open"],"accepted":{"date-parts":[[2025,5,16]]},"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2025,6]]},"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Objective<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>This study aimed to analyse the attitudes of physicians working in Estonia towards the legalisation of euthanasia and assisted suicide, their willingness to perform these practices and the association of these factors with a range of physician characteristics.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Design<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Cross-sectional study design using a web-based anonymous questionnaire comprising 31 questions or statements.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Setting<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Estonia, April\u2013October 2022; data collection via a web-based survey of physicians.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Participants<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>526 physicians (74% female, 49% under 40 years old).<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Primary and secondary outcome measures<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>The primary outcome was the attitudes of Estonian physicians towards the legalisation of euthanasia and assisted suicide. Secondary outcomes included their self-reported willingness to personally perform euthanasia and their willingness to personally assist in suicide.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Most of the participants (73%) agreed that euthanasia and assisted suicide should be legal in Estonia. Non-religious physicians were significantly more likely to support both (OR 8.0; 95%\u2009CI: 3.8, 16.8 for euthanasia; OR 9.7; 95%\u2009CI: 4.7, 20.2 for assisted suicide). Physicians who attended palliative care courses were less likely to support euthanasia (OR 0.3; 95%\u2009CI: 0.1, 0.8). Over half had not participated in any specialised palliative medicine courses.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusions<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>This research indicates that the Estonian physician community demonstrates a predominantly accepting view of the legalisation of euthanasia and assisted suicide.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1136\/bmjopen-2024-096450","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,6,3]],"date-time":"2025-06-03T04:30:15Z","timestamp":1748925015000},"page":"e096450","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1136\/crossmarkpolicy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":5,"title":["Attitudes towards euthanasia and assisted suicide: a cross-sectional study among physicians in Estonia"],"prefix":"10.1136","volume":"15","author":[{"given":"Aime","family":"Keis","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Family Medicine and Public Health, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Anu","family":"Aluoja","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Psychiatry, Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5757-9840","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Heti","family":"Pisarev","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Family Medicine and Public Health, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Anneli","family":"Uusk\u00fcla","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Family Medicine and Public Health, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3364-7372","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Kadri","family":"Suija","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Family Medicine and Public Health, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia"},{"name":"Institute of Public Health and Clinical Nutrition, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"239","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,6,3]]},"reference":[{"key":"2026020305050489000_15.6.e096450.1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1056\/NEJM198203183061104"},{"key":"2026020305050489000_15.6.e096450.2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.1136\/bmjopen-2017-016659","article-title":"Understanding patients\u2019 experiences of the wish to hasten death: an updated and expanded systematic review and meta-ethnography","volume":"7","author":"Rodr\u00edguez-Prat","year":"2017","journal-title":"BMJ Open"},{"key":"2026020305050489000_15.6.e096450.3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.1186\/s12888-017-1369-0","article-title":"Euthanasia for people with psychiatric disorders or dementia in Belgium: analysis of officially reported cases","volume":"17","author":"Dierickx","year":"2017","journal-title":"BMC Psychiatry"},{"key":"2026020305050489000_15.6.e096450.4","first-page":"387","article-title":"Regional variation in the practice of euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide in the Netherlands","volume":"74","author":"Koopman","year":"2016","journal-title":"Neth J Med"},{"key":"2026020305050489000_15.6.e096450.5","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.3389\/fpsyt.2018.00678","article-title":"Medical assistance in dying: challenges for psychiatry","volume":"9","author":"Jones","year":"2018","journal-title":"Front Psychiatry"},{"key":"2026020305050489000_15.6.e096450.6","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.21037\/apm-20-637"},{"key":"2026020305050489000_15.6.e096450.7","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.1186\/s12904-024-01351-4","article-title":"Palliative care training in medical undergraduate education: a survey among the faculty","volume":"23","author":"Suija","year":"2024","journal-title":"BMC Palliat Care"},{"key":"2026020305050489000_15.6.e096450.8","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/0269216310397688"},{"key":"2026020305050489000_15.6.e096450.9","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.1186\/s12910-022-00810-y","article-title":"Ambivalence toward euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide has decreased among physicians in Finland","volume":"23","author":"Piili","year":"2022","journal-title":"BMC Med Ethics"},{"key":"2026020305050489000_15.6.e096450.10","unstructured":"Labotkin R , Suija H , Fedossov V . Eesti arstide suhtumine eutanaasiasse. Eesti Arst 1999;3\u20136."},{"key":"2026020305050489000_15.6.e096450.11","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.1186\/s12910-021-00652-0","article-title":"Trends in Swedish physicians\u2019 attitudes towards physician-assisted suicide: a cross-sectional study","volume":"22","author":"Lyn\u00f8e","year":"2021","journal-title":"BMC Med Ethics"},{"key":"2026020305050489000_15.6.e096450.12","unstructured":"The World Medical Association . Declaration on Euthanasia and Physician-Assisted Suicide. 2021 WMA Declaration on Euthanasia and Physician-Assisted Suicide \u2013 WMA. 2021."},{"key":"2026020305050489000_15.6.e096450.13","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.1186\/s12910-021-00731-2","article-title":"Attitudes on euthanasia among medical students and doctors in Sri Lanka: a cross sectional study","volume":"22","author":"Herath","year":"2021","journal-title":"BMC Med Ethics"},{"key":"2026020305050489000_15.6.e096450.14","first-page":"163","article-title":"Religiosity in Europe: an index, factors, and clusters of religiosity","volume":"2016","author":"Coutinho","year":"2016","journal-title":"SPP"},{"key":"2026020305050489000_15.6.e096450.15","unstructured":"Census . Small rise in Estonia in those with no religious beliefs, 2022. 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