Media Mischief (Another Poorly Reported Study, This Time By The Guardian)

[HuckleB]

http://skepchick.org/blog/2010/08/media-mischief/#more-16002

"...

Sarah Boseley, Health Editor for the Guardian newspaper, reports on a survey, published today in the Journal of Medical Ethics, which asked 8500 doctors about their religious attitudes and how they’ve handled end of life care and communication with patients regarding these matters in their practices. Of those, 4000 responded to the survey. I’d love to see the full questionnaire, but unfortunately, I, like most lay people, don’t have access to the journal. (If any of our readers do, please let me know.)

The main focus of this article is on the fact that, according to this survey, doctors self-identifying as atheist or agnostic were twice as likely as their religious counterparts to “take decisions that might shorten the life of somebody who is terminally ill”. Unless there is some vast difference in American and British usage of the word “take”, I read this as meaning that non believing doctors are more likely to discuss and respect the decisions of said patients, not to influence or make those decisions themselves.

Also, the reference to “controversial decisions” in the subtitle is completely twisted. “Hospital clinicians admit controversial decisions”, as though there is some scandal involving mass elder killings. Upon further reading, however, it seems this refers to patients who want to discuss euthanasia or other end of life decisions that some religious people disapprove of; making them “ethically controversial”.

In fact, the way I read this entire article would lead me to a completely different conclusion than the headline seems to come to: Regardless of your particular beliefs, you’re better off with an atheist doctor. Why? Well, to quote the piece itself:

The most religious doctors were significantly less likely than other doctors to have discussed options at the end of life with their patient.

..."


--------------------------------------------


Yup. This is frustrating to see.

:hi:

[ejpoeta]

1. i don't get why the religious doctors wouldn't discuss end of life decisions.

isn't the goal to get to that next life? this makes me want to ask my doctor what their damned religion is before i let them be my doctor! though i am sure my doctor is not one of those religious doctors, as when i found out i was pregnant the last time and was horrified (yes i was not happy about it) told me that i had options. i had my daughter who will be a year old next month, but was glad to know that my doctor wouldn't push her views on me!

[HuckleB]

2. It's not acceptable, but it is quite human, too, IMO.

[SheilaT]

3. You've touched on something

that has always bothered me. It seems as though those who most call themselves religious, who claim to believe firmly in God and an afterlife, are the ones most willing to prolong life at any cost. It's not the atheists and those who don't believe in any sort of afterlife who do this. Just (or mainly) the most religious. How weird.

[ejpoeta]

4. that is wierd. i often hear how the goal is the afterlife so one shouldn't fear death

or anything like that. but you are right.... it seems these folks want to prolong it. i don't know why. i have watched people waste away. and i watched my dad die in a hospital room. at least he died with dignity. we were guessing at what he wanted. i'll make damned sure my family knows so that they don't have to worry that they are making the right decisions for me.