Using Latent Profile Analysis to Understand Health Practitioners' Attitudes Toward Voluntary Assisted Dying

Morgana Lizzio-Wilson; Emma F Thomas; Winnifred R Louis; Monique F Crane; Madison Kho; Pascal Molenberghs; Susilo Wibisono; Kiara Minto; Catherine E Amiot; Jean Decety; Lauren J Breen; Kerrie Noonan; Liz Forbat; Felicity Allen

doi:10.1177/00302228221149453

Using Latent Profile Analysis to Understand Health Practitioners' Attitudes Toward Voluntary Assisted Dying

Omega (Westport). 2023 Feb 24:302228221149453. doi: 10.1177/00302228221149453. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Morgana Lizzio-Wilson^{1

2}, Emma F Thomas², Winnifred R Louis³, Monique F Crane⁴, Madison Kho⁴, Pascal Molenberghs⁵, Susilo Wibisono³, Kiara Minto⁶, Catherine E Amiot⁷, Jean Decety⁸, Lauren J Breen^{9

10}, Kerrie Noonan¹¹, Liz Forbat¹², Felicity Allen¹³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Psychology, The University of Exeter, Exeter, UK.
² College of Education, Psychology, and Social Work, Flinders University, Adelaide, SA, Australia.
³ School of Psychology, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia.
⁴ Department of Psychology, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
⁵ Institute for Social Neuroscience, Heidelberg, VIC, Australia.
⁶ School of Historical and Philosophical Inquiry, University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia.
⁷ Département de Psychologie, Université du Québec à Montréal, Montreal, QC, Canada.
⁸ Department of Psychology, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA.
⁹ Curtin enAble Institute, Faculty of Health Sciences, Curtin University, Perth, WA, Australia.
¹⁰ School of Population Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, Curtin University, Perth, WA, Australia.
¹¹ Death Literacy Institute, University of Western Sydney, Penrith South, NSW, Australia.
¹² Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Stirling, Stirling, UK.
¹³ Charles Darwin University, Casuarina, NT, Australia.

PMID: 36826344
DOI: 10.1177/00302228221149453

Abstract

Prior work has documented considerable diversity among health practitioners regarding their support for voluntary assisted dying (VAD). We examined whether their attitudes are characterised by different combinations of personal support, normative support by other health practitioners, and whether they are predisposed to vicariously experience others' emotions (i.e., empathy). We also examined whether these profiles experienced different mental health outcomes (i.e., burnout and posttraumatic stress) in relation to VAD. To test this, 104 Australian health practitioners were surveyed after VAD was legalised in Victoria, Australia in 2019. Results indicated that practitioners' attitudes were characterised by three profiles: 1) strong personal and normative support (strong VAD supporters), 2) moderate personal and normative support (moderate VAD supporters), and 3) lower personal and normative support (apprehensive practitioners). However, each profile reported similar mental health outcomes. Findings suggest that the normative environments in which health practitioners operate may explain their diverse attitudes on VAD.

Keywords: assisted dying; end-of-life; health practitioners; latent profile analysis; mental health.