New Publication: How patients explain and make sense of their decision for assisted suicide in Switzerland (the Exit Project): qualitative exploratory study (The BMJ)
This Swiss wide study explores how patients themselves frame and report the motivations underpinning the decision to pursue assisted suicide in Switzerland. Thereby offering valuable insights into their experiences, perspectives, and decision-making processes.
This collaborative project centered at CHUV and joined by researchers from Unil, UZH IBME Solenne Blanc, Lea Heistrüvers, Sofia Savinelli, Mathieu Bernard, Gian Domenico Borasio, Ralf J. Jox, Philip Larkin, Anca-Cristina Sterie and Claudia Gamondi worked on expanding the discussion on assisted suicide in Switzerland.
It shows that decisions to pursue assisted suicide emerged as prospective, meaning-making processes, embedded in personal values, relational considerations, and a temporal awareness, rather than as solely reactive responses to physical suffering.
Recognizing this complexity may support more ethically attuned clinical dialogue and contribute to a deeper understanding of how patients make sense of assisted suicide and end-of-life decisions.
We are pleased to highlight the contribution of our institute's PhD candidate Lea Heistrüvers, who is a co-author of this work.