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Purpose: Patients’ desire for hastened death within the context of advanced disease and palliative care is a controversial topic, frequently discussed in the international literature. Much of the discussion has focused on opinion and debate about ethical matters related to hastened death. Not many research studies seem to have specifically targeted why palliative care patients may desire hastened death, and few have focused on clinical guidelines for responding to such requests.

Methods: Using a systematic literature review process, we evaluated the research evidence related to the reasons patients express a desire for a hastened death, and the quality of clinical guidelines in this area.

Results: Thirty-five research studies met the inclusion criteria related to reasons associated with a desire for hastened death. The factors associated with …