Community knowledge of voluntary assisted dying: a cross-sectional survey of the public in Queensland, Australia

, , & (2025) Community knowledge of voluntary assisted dying: a cross-sectional survey of the public in Queensland, Australia. Death Studies.

View at publisher

Description

This research, undertaken in Queensland, Australia aimed to explore community members’ knowledge of voluntary assisted dying (VAD) 17 months after it became a lawful option. Adults living in Queensland (n = 1000) completed an online survey about knowledge of VAD as a legal option and awareness of how to access VAD and information about it. Quotas were set for age, gender and geographical region within Queensland. Only 33% (n = 329) of community members correctly identified that VAD is legal and fewer (26%, n = 257) reported that they would know how to access VAD if they wished to. Most community members (86%, n = 858) reported they would access information on VAD online, typically via search engines, and from health and medical practitioners, primarily doctors. Since lack of awareness and understanding are major barriers to seeking and accessing VAD, proactive measures are needed to increase awareness of VAD in the community and among potentially eligible patients.

Impact and interest:

Search Google Scholar™

Citation counts are sourced monthly from Scopus and Web of Science® citation databases.

These databases contain citations from different subsets of available publications and different time periods and thus the citation count from each is usually different. Some works are not in either database and no count is displayed. Scopus includes citations from articles published in 1996 onwards, and Web of Science® generally from 1980 onwards.

Citations counts from the Google Scholar™ indexing service can be viewed at the linked Google Scholar™ search.

Full-text downloads:

10 since deposited on 23 Jan 2025
10 in the past twelve months

Full-text downloads displays the total number of times this work’s files (e.g., a PDF) have been downloaded from QUT ePrints as well as the number of downloads in the previous 365 days. The count includes downloads for all files if a work has more than one.

ID Code: 255019
Item Type: Contribution to Journal (Journal Article)
Refereed: Yes
ORCID iD:
White, Benorcid.org/0000-0003-3365-939X
Feeney, Rachelorcid.org/0000-0002-8306-1030
Willmott, Lindyorcid.org/0000-0002-9750-287X
Measurements or Duration: 9 pages
DOI: 10.1080/07481187.2025.2452490
ISSN: 0748-1187
Pure ID: 187010987
Divisions: Current > Research Centres > Australian Centre for Health Law Research
Current > QUT Faculties and Divisions > Faculty of Business & Law
Current > Schools > School of Law
Funding Information: This research was funded by Queensland Health
Copyright Owner: Consult author(s) regarding copyright matters
Copyright Statement: This work is covered by copyright. Unless the document is being made available under a Creative Commons Licence, you must assume that re-use is limited to personal use and that permission from the copyright owner must be obtained for all other uses. If the document is available under a Creative Commons License (or other specified license) then refer to the Licence for details of permitted re-use. It is a condition of access that users recognise and abide by the legal requirements associated with these rights. If you believe that this work infringes copyright please provide details by email to qut.copyright@qut.edu.au
Deposited On: 23 Jan 2025 04:27
Last Modified: 10 Feb 2025 22:00