Euthanasia in adults with psychiatric conditions (APC) is allowed in Belgium and impacts a variety of workers in this field, including psychiatrists, psychiatric nurses, psychologists, and support “buddies”. This study examines their perspectives on the appropriateness of the current legal criteria for, and practice of, euthanasia in the context of psychiatry, and their suggestions to properly implement or amend these criteria. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 30 Dutch-speaking mental healthcare workers who had at least one experience with an APC requesting euthanasia, in Flanders and Brussels (Belgium), between August 2019 and August 2020. Interview transcripts were analyzed through qualitative content analysis. Our study shows that, for these mental healthcare workers, only one of the legal eligibility criteria to assess euthanasia requests by APC (i.e., unbearable suffering) is rather straightforward to interpret. In addition, there was a lack of consensus on what aspects of the Euthanasia Law should be modified and in what way. Many mental healthcare workers do not well understand or misinterpret the legal criteria for euthanasia involving APC. Criteria are sometimes defined so narrowly that euthanasia requests by APC are generally deemed ineligible or, alternatively, are stretched to allow for inclusion of cases that go beyond what the Law intended. Our study indicates the need for an authoritative professional code of conduct offering clear advice for Belgian euthanasia practice in the context of psychiatry. It is also recommended that future trainings are standardized, supported by the most important professional associations in the field, and freely available to all who are confronted with euthanasia requests from APC or who offer support to APC who consider euthanasia.

中文翻译：

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比利时安乐死法对精神疾病造成精神痛苦的安乐死资格标准的看法：对精神卫生保健工作者的定性访谈研究

比利时允许对患有精神疾病的成年人（APC）实施安乐死，并影响到该领域的各种工作人员，包括精神科医生、精神科护士、心理学家和支持“伙伴”。本研究探讨了他们对精神病学背景下安乐死现行法律标准和实践的适当性的看法，以及他们对正确实施或修改这些标准的建议。2019 年 8 月至 2020 年 8 月期间，我们在佛兰德斯和布鲁塞尔（比利时）对 30 名荷兰语精神卫生保健工作者进行了半结构化访谈，这些工作者至少有过一次 APC 要求安乐死的经历。通过定性内容分析对访谈笔录进行了分析。我们的研究表明，对于这些精神卫生保健工作者来说，只有一项评估 APC 安乐死请求的法律资格标准（即难以忍受的痛苦）是相当容易解释的。此外，对于《安乐死法》的哪些方面应该修改以及以何种方式修改也缺乏共识。许多精神卫生保健工作者不太理解或误解涉及 APC 的安乐死的法律标准。有时，标准的定义非常狭窄，以至于 APC 的安乐死请求通常被视为不符合条件，或者被扩展以允许纳入超出法律预期的案例。我们的研究表明需要制定权威的专业行为准则，为比利时精神病学领域的安乐死实践提供明确的建议。还建议未来的培训标准化，由该领域最重要的专业协会支持，并免费提供给所有面临 APC 安乐死请求的人或为考虑安乐死的 APC 提供支持的人。