"A Good Death Without Pain"... 8 out of 10 Adults Support Assisted Dignified Death

Report on "Trends and Tasks in Well-Dying Discussions"
92% of Respondents Willing to Discontinue Life-Sustaining Treatment

Nine out of ten adults in South Korea responded that they are willing to discontinue life-sustaining treatment when they become terminally ill. They consider a death with less pain and without burdening their family as a "good death." Additionally, more than eight out of ten people supported the legalization of "assisted dignified death."

More than 8 out of 10 adults in our country supported the legalization of 'assisted dying with dignity.'

This is from a recent report by the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs titled "Trends and Tasks in Well-Dying Discussions for Future Society Preparation," which surveyed 1,021 adult men and women in April-May last year about their perceptions of death.

Among respondents, 91.9% expressed willingness to discontinue life-sustaining treatment according to the life-sustaining treatment decision system when becoming terminally ill. The reasons included feeling that life without the possibility of recovery is meaningless (68.3%) and not wanting to burden their family (56.9%).

Regarding the legalization of assisted dignified death, 82.0% were in favor. Assisted dignified death, also known as physician-assisted suicide, is when a terminal patient suffering extreme pain ends their life by self-administering medication prepared by a doctor. Those in favor cited reasons such as believing that continuing meaningless treatment is unnecessary (41.2%), that everyone has the right to decide their own death (27.3%), and that it can reduce the pain of dying (19.0%).

The research team stated, "The keywords commonly derived from literature reviews, surveys, and expert consultations were 'pain control' and 'respect for self-determination,'" and suggested measures such as identifying patients in pain blind spots, improving hospice awareness, expanding the scope of life-sustaining treatment discontinuation implementation, and activating well-dying education by life cycle.

When asked about the important factors for facing a good death, the largest group (20.1%) chose a death without pain. This was followed by family not having to care for them for a long time (18.5%), family not experiencing significant economic burden during caregiving (17.5%), and psychological preparation for death in advance (10.9%). The most needed service to prepare for a good death was pain relief that may occur at the end of life (62.7%), followed by support for treatment costs for terminal patients (56.8%).

80% Willing to Use Hospice and Palliative Care Services

Also, 81.1% of respondents indicated willingness to use hospice and palliative care services when they become terminal or in the dying phase. Those unwilling to use such services accounted for 18.9%. Hospice and palliative care services aim to provide medical care that alleviates physical pain and improves quality of life without forcibly extending life through life-sustaining treatment for terminal patients. The maximum usage period is set at 60 days.

The main reason for unwillingness to use hospice and palliative care services was the perception that "it would be very costly," accounting for 49.7%. This was followed by "the perception that it is a place to wait for death" (43.5%), "feeling like giving up on the remaining life" (28.0%), "lack of knowledge about hospice and palliative care services" (18.7%), and "concern that no measures would be taken despite suffering from pain" (16.6%).

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.