Implementation of Assisted Dying in Catalonia: Impact on Professionals and Development of Good Practices. Protocol for a Qualitative Study

Abstract

The approval of the Spanish Law for the Regulation of Euthanasia in March 2021 entails a profound social change that has direct implications for professional practice at all levels of care. There is no information available about the experiences of the professionals participating in the process of implementing the law in our country, nor any guide as to what might represent good practices in euthanasia in the context of the Mediterranean countries. Due to the complexity of the concepts often associated with assisted dying processes (such as suffering, dignity and moral compass), it is essential that systematic and detailed research be conducted on how professionals understand their experiences of euthanasia, and that it be conducted during the initial stages. We intend to carry out a qualitative study with a constructionist orientation to gain insight to the social constructs underlying professionals’ initial experiences. It consists of a series of in-depth interviews conducted in two phases: the first being exploratory and the second phenomenological. Sampling will be purposive and substantiated and have the following variation criteria: profession, age, and gender. Participants will be recruited through the Guarantee and Review Commission of Catalonia, and the scope of the study is all of Catalonia. We expect the participation of 31 professionals. The research will be conducted by a multidisciplinary team with the direct participation of researchers from different levels of healthcare, university research centers and civil society through all phases of the study. The expected results are: (a) A detailed description of the experiences of the professionals involved in the implementation of the law; and (b) The identification of the foundations for a guide to good practices in euthanasia in the Mediterranean setting.