Life-Sustaining Treatment Decisions: Health Care Social Workers' Attitudes and Their Correlates

This study is the first to examine social workers' attitudes to life-sustaining treatments and the correlates associated to these attitudes. A convenience sample of 63 Israeli social workers participated in a mail survey. Results indicate that social workers would use CPR significantly less than artificial feeding or mechanical ventilation. Additionally they would use significantly less LST for patients in a metastatic condition than in mental and severe physical conditions. Social workers' attitudes to the use of LST were more associated to beliefs regarding life and death than to socio-demographic variables. Research examining the attitudes of social workers involved in medical decision-making processes, should be expanded.