Evaluating Euthanasia Practices and Death with Dignity Act

This assignment provides an analysis of the practice of euthanasia, specifically evaluating the Death with Dignity Act in Oregon. The study focuses on the mental state and depression levels of patients who request aid to physicians in dying, highlighting gaps in protecting mentally ill individuals from this process.

PUBLIC HEALTH
INTELLIGENCE

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
Critical appraisal of Public Health Intelligence...............................................................................1
Aspects of a research critique.....................................................................................................1
A critical understanding of public health and public health intelligence....................................1
Skills required to interpret the public health data.......................................................................2
Strengths and weaknesses...........................................................................................................3
a) Substantive..............................................................................................................................3
b) Theoretical..............................................................................................................................4
c) Methodological.......................................................................................................................4
d) Interpretative...........................................................................................................................4
e) Ethical.....................................................................................................................................5
f) Stylistic....................................................................................................................................5
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................5
REFERENCE...................................................................................................................................7

INTRODUCTION
Public health intelligence is taken as a tool for estimating the status of health and
behaviour of population. This data is further served by health ministers who are responsible for
preventing and controlling diseases (Quah, 2016). This report is going to demonstrate the critical
appraisal of public health data, where people of Oregon are suffering from anxiety and
depression as well as request for euthanasia. The main outcomes which are highlighted in
research measures the diagnosis of depression and level of anxiety of people suffering from ill-
terminally disease. It has also evaluated that such patients who request for dying didn't have
depressive disorders. Therefore, this assignment doesn't show any evidence about reasons why
such patients still request to die. Furthermore, main issue in this regard is extracted as presence
of a disorder and determination of its influence.
Critical appraisal of Public Health Intelligence
Aspects of a research critique
As per present scenario, a research has done to identify the prevalence of anxiety and
depression in terminally ill people. They are requesting from physicians to help them in dying.
For this process, Oregano state of UK is taken where petition of Death with Dignity Act was
passed in 1994. According to this law, physicians have right to prescribe a lethal dosage of drugs
to patients to give them relief from pain (Fairchild, Bayer and Colgrove, 2014). For this process,
physicians will make sure that people are terminally ill and mature as well as willing to end their
life. After this law has passed on, from every thousand deaths, one or two of them are died by
lethal ingestion. To determine prevalence of this act, 58 Oregonians who are suffered from
incurred diseases like cancer or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, are taken for investigation. These
participants may be requested from physicians to die or they contact to advocacy organisations
for the same.
A critical understanding of public health and public health intelligence
According to this research report, it has analysed that participants who are belongs to
Oregon are suffered from some critical diseases. The main outcomes related to diagnosis of
depression are measured by using effective techniques (Waitzkin, 2015). It includes Structured
Clinical Interview for the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Hospital
anxiety and depression scale etc. Through these measured it has concluded that mostly terminally
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ill Oregonians do not have mental or depressive disorders. Due to high severe pain, they had
requested to die. Through investigation, it has evaluated that 15 among 58 Oregonians have met
criteria for depression while 13 with anxiety. During research period, near about 42 patients have
died, from which number of patient who received a dosage of lethal drug as per Death with
Dignity Act are 18. Other than this, 9 died by lethal ingestion. Furthermore, it has investigated
that among 18 died patients who have taken a course of lethal drug under supervision of
physicians. In this regard, only three were found as high depressive order while others didn't.
Therefore, the recent practice of Death with Dignity Disorders has failed to prevent those people
who willing to die due to terminally ill disease and under depression as well as take course of
lethal drug.
Skills required to interpret the public health data
An expert who is engaged with public health sector to collect and analyse data related to
healthcare issues are known as public health analyst (Ratcliffe, 2016). They perform various
responsibilities to collect reliable and accurate information and rely on effective technology for
entire process of gathering. Some major duties played by such experts in public health sector are:
 Analyse collected data in detailed manner and draw valid conclusions.
 Prepare reports that gives detail about conclusions and final outcomes of investigation.
 Identify opportunities through which improvement within a field can be made.
 For developing better interventions to reduce eradication, consult with professionals and
policymakers belongs to medical field.
 Representations of data in graphical manner which can be further used to illustrate
findings
 Use statistical measures for further interpretation and improvement.
To perform such duties, the necessary skills required by an analyst in public health sector
are given as below:-
 Critical thinking: To analyse the data in proper manner, an expert must have good
critical thinking skills (Karimi and et. al., 2014). This would help them in identifying the
strengths and weaknesses as well as draw possible solutions to specific problem.
 Strong Maths skills: This skill is most essential one which aid a person in analysing and
making interpretation of the data more precisely. Experts having maths ability can
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represent data in well-mannered form and use effective techniques to arrange gathered
information in proper manner also.
 Interpersonal skills: These are considered as competencies which allow analyst to
interact effectively with participants and professionals. It includes abilities like teamwork
collaboration, flexibility in work, conflict resolution and more. These traits are important
for team building and get cooperation of each in achievement of set goals. In context
with public health sector, nature of job is required to make collaboration with clinical
staff, medical professionals, IT experts and more (Holland, 2015). Thus, it is essential for
such analyst to must have well-developed interpersonal skills.
Strengths and weaknesses
a) Substantive
The main strong point of this research is its objective where researches prepare
investigation report on the prevalence of depression and anxiety. For this process, research is
done on terminally ill patients who are requesting to die from physicians. Therefore, it refers to a
serious topic which is helpful for analysing whether petition for death with dignity is right. For
this process, some people of Oregano who were suffering from incurable diseases are taken.
Researchers use inclusive approach to categorise respondents on the basis of depression, severe
depression or no depression disorder. But this investigation fails to give result if medical
consultancies for a lethal drug are prescribed according to Death with Dignity Act and should be
made legally continue or not. Apart from this, as the main objective of this report is to identify
whether all patients who are suffered from terminally ill diseases are influenced by depression
for a lethal drug or not. Therefore, the study conducted in this manner gives a large contribution
to meet criteria. Along with this, information which is extracted from statistical report are also
compiled by Oregon Department of Human Services. This shows authenticity of data with
reasonable medical judgement. A discussion is made in present study where some methods are
applied on selected patients. These respondents are requested to physicians for lethal drug
prescriptions. It has evaluated that major portion of them didn't have any depressive disorder.
Thus, it indicated that recent practice to allow ineligible patients to take lethal drug is illegal also.
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b) Theoretical
The strength of this research is that it made both in theoretical and conceptual manner. It
includes a standard measure of depression and a blinding system, which adhere a control on
those patients who are found to have psychiatric disorders (Schneider, 2016). Furthermore, study
on measures of depression and anxiety evaluate the two main aspects of psychiatric assessment.
It includes symptoms of disorder and influence determination; measures to identify eligibility for
aid in dying should be mental disorder or not. In contrast, investigation on euthanasia from
population of Oregon states that psychological disorders and depression are prominent among
terminally ill people who are voluntarily to death petition. In this regard, the main drawback of
present research is that some findings are remained uncertain. It fails to ascertain that whether
findings from respondents are extrapolated from those patients who are willing to die by lethal
drugs or requested for dying to legal physicians.
c) Methodological
Researchers of present report use various sources to notify patients to take participation
in investigation. Some of them had contacted to legal agencies like Compassion and Choices for
requesting aid to die (Jones, Greenberg and Crowley, 2015). This organisation of Oregon provide
information about terminally ill patients who choose aid in dying. Furthermore, project-makers
of public health sector, use inclusive approach to categorise patients on the basis of depressive
disorder. To represent information in statistical manner, data analysis has used. Here data is
presented as frequencies and proportions for categorical items. To analyse the data and make
interpretation on it, statistician of present research has used Student's t-distribution for compare
means. But this report fails to entail which research methodologies have taken by researchers in
order to collect data related to public health issues.
d) Interpretative
In order to interpret the data, public heath analyst use Student t-distribution method.
Under this process, two tailed hypothesis are taken with 5% analysis of variance to make
judgements and draw valid conclusion on the same. But as it has evaluated that data explored by
using t-distribution table often mislead the conception. It provides inappropriate data when
continuous data is taken for calculation.
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e) Ethical
Present data is made in ethical manner where any type of personal information related to
terminally ill patients are not given. Only name of state is used to explore the result which is
based on determination of prevalence of anxiety as well as depression in ill people who have
requested for aid of physicians to die. But this report fails to give detail if whole group of data in
which sample is taken, have requested to take lethal drug for die or not.
f) Stylistic
The design of present research is made on cross sectional survey where data about
problems and reasons for euthanasia are given in clear and concise manner. It provides not
complete but enough data on which further investigation can be made.
To conduct this research, investigators has used simple random sampling method with an
inclusive approach. Under this process, 178 Compassion and Choices participants are included in
total population among which few are selected on random basis. Furthermore, it has analysed
that 58 of them who are requesting for dying are lie under age of 66 years. The patients with
cognitive impairment are excluded from selection criteria. To get feedback and views of selected
participants, researchers have made a proper questionnaire format. This would help in analysing
mental state or depression level of selected participants. Through this process, investigators have
drawn a valid conclusion about relevance of euthanasia. Moreover, it has also evaluated that for
numerical analysis, researchers have represented data in the form of normal distribution. In this
regard, they have applied Student's t-distribution where all two tailed hypothesis are measured
under 5% of variance. These approaches are quite looking effective for drawing effective
conclusion. But this method gives inappropriate reasons about current practice of Death with
Dignity Act in Oregon. As this method fails to protect people who are mentally ill and request
for dying. Therefore, in terms of reliability and validity of data, this work seems to give
appropriate result.
CONCLUSION
Through this appraisal report it has interpreted that most people who are suffering from
incurable diseases and requesting for aid to physicians in dying do not belongs to high disorder
category. The practice related to Death with Dignity Act in Oregon fails to protect and prevent
patients who are psychological ill and high depression disorder. It has also summarised from this
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assignment to work on public health intelligence, an analyst is required to have appropriate skills
and knowledge. It will help in gathering, analysing and interpreting data in more accurate
manner.
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REFERENCE
Books and Journals
Jones, D. E., Greenberg, M. and Crowley, M., 2015. Early social-emotional functioning and
public health: The relationship between kindergarten social competence and future
wellness. American journal of public health. 105(11). pp.2283-2290.
Schneider, M. J., 2016. Introduction to public health. Jones & Bartlett Publishers.
Holland, S., 2015. Public health ethics. John Wiley & Sons.
Karimi, L. and et. al., 2014. Emotional rescue: The role of emotional intelligence and emotional
labour on well‐being and job‐stress among community nurses. Journal of advanced
nursing. 70(1). pp.176-186.
Ratcliffe, J. H., 2016. Intelligence-led policing. Routledge.
Waitzkin, H., 2015. Medicine and public health at the end of empire. Routledge.
Fairchild, A. L., Bayer, R. and Colgrove, J., 2014. The renormalization of smoking? E-cigarettes
and the tobacco “endgame”. New England Journal of Medicine. 370(4). pp.293-295.
Quah, S. R., 2016. International encyclopedia of public health. Academic Press.
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