ATTITUDES OF LICENSED PSYCHOLOGISTS TOWARD MEDICAL AID IN DYING. (11th November 2018) - Merz, C
Abstract: Medical aid in dying (MAID) is legal in seven U.S. states/territories as of March, 2018. Under MAID laws, licensed psychologists can be called upon to conduct mental health evaluations when there is some question about the capacity of patients requesting MAID. The purpose of the current study was to investigate the attitudes of psychologists regarding MAID. The sample included 137 licensed psychologists practicing in 33 different states, aged 28–82 years, 69% female, 89% White. Participants held a doctoral degree (103 Ph.D., 34 Psy.D.) and had been in clinical practice an average of 15 years (SD = 14). Sixty-five percent of the sample had formal training in working with individuals with serious medical illness (e.g., psycho-oncology, hospice, palliative care). Overall, 89% of the sample said that MAID should be allowed under rare (17%), some (31%), or most (18%) circumstances, or always (23%); 11% reported that MAID should never be allowed. However, only 56% said they would agree to perform a psychological evaluation of a patient requesting MAID; the remainder would refuse, citing training limitations (33%), ethical objections (5%), or both (5%). Only 8% were confident in their ability to determine decision-making capacity in the context of a single evaluation, rising to 37% in the context of a long-term relationship with the patient. Although the practice of MAID has expanded in the U.S. in recent years, psychologists have a variety of opinions about the practice, and many lack the training to conduct mental health evaluations, indicating a need for future training.