Hege Hol

• Hol, Hege & Rokstad, Anne Marie Mork (2024). Sykepleieres kompetanse og rolle i møte med forespørsler om assistert død : en kvalitativ studie. Tidsskrift for omsorgsforskning. ISSN 2387-5976. 9(3), p. 1–15. doi: 10.18261/tfo.9.3.2. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Bakgrunn: Assistert død er ikke tillatt i Norge, men sykepleiere får forespørsler fra terminale pasienter og opplever det som vanskelig. Forskning viser at sykepleiere har begrenset faglig kunnskap om assistert død. Hensikten med studien er å utforske sykepleieres kompetanse og rolle i møte med pasienters forespørsel om assistert død. Metode: Studien har et kvalitativt design med en fenomenologisk hermeneutisk tilnærming. Individuelle intervjuer av kliniske sykepleiere ble analysert med tematisk analyse. Funn: Sykepleierne hadde begrenset teoretisk og klinisk kunnskap om temaet assistert død fra grunnutdanningen, men hadde kjennskap til temaet fra media. Sykepleiere med videreutdanning i palliativ smertelindring hadde fått opplæring om temaet. Sykepleierne opplevde sin egen rolle som uklar i håndteringen av forespørsler om assistert død, og samtalene om døden ble ofte overlatt til andre profesjoner. Konklusjon: Mangelfull kunnskap om assistert død blant sykepleiere krever trygge og faglige rammer, veiledning og støtte for faglig utvikling fra de mer erfarne sykepleierne og det tverrfaglige teamet. Kunnskapsutvikling om assistert død trenger å bli belyst både i klinikken, i utdanningen og i forskningssammenheng.

• Hol, Hege Bente; Vatne, Solfrid; Strømskag, Kjell Erik; Orøy, Aud Jorun & Rokstad, Anne Marie Mork (2022). Norwegian nurses' perceptions of assisted dying requests from terminally ill patients : a qualitative interview study. Nursing Inquiry (NI). ISSN 1320-7881. 30(1), p. 1–9. doi: 10.1111/nin.12517. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  This study explores the perceptions of Norwegian nurses who have receivedassisted dying requests from terminally ill patients. Assisted dying is illegal inNorway, while in some countries, it is an option. Nurses caring for terminally illpatients may experience ethical challenges by receiving requests for euthanasia andassisted suicide. We applied a qualitative research design with a phenomenologicalhermeneutic approach using open individual interviews. A total of 15 registerednurses employed in pulmonary and oncology wards of three university hospitals andhome care in one municipality were recruited. Four themes emerged from theanalysis: (1) unprepared for the request; (2) meeting direct, indirect, and nonverbalrequests; (3) working in a gray zone, and (4) feeling alone and powerless. The studyfound that nurses were unsure how to handle such requests due to professionaluncertainty about assisted dying. Working in an environment where the topic istaboo made nurses morally uncertain, and some perceived this as moral distress. Thehospital chaplain played a significant role in providing support to these nurses. Keywords: assisted dying requests, ethical challenge, interviews, moral distress, moral uncertainty, nurses'experiences, phenomenological hermeneutic design

• Hol, Hege Bente; Vatne, Solfrid; Orøy, Aud Jorun; Rokstad, Anne Marie Mork & Opdal, Øivind (2022). Norwegian nurses' attitudes toward assisted dying : a cross-sectional study. Nursing: Research and Reviews. 2022(12), p. 101–109. doi: 10.2147/NRR.S363670. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Purpose: The purpose was to investigate: (a) Norwegian nurses’ attitudes toward assisted dying, and (b) how much nurses receive requests from terminally ill patients for help in dying. Participants and Methods: A quantitative explorative study was conducted using a web-based cross-sectional survey to collect data. The survey was sent to a total of 734 eligible participants, and 205 clinical nurses participated by completing the survey. Data were analyzed using bivariate statistics and multivariate ordinal regression. Results: The study revealed that 56% of the participating nurses agreed with the statement that physician-assisted suicide should be allowed, and 48% supported legalization of euthanasia. Nurses in pulmonary wards were more positive about the legalization of physician-assisted suicide (OR = 2.98, CI = 1.34– 6.66, p = 0.008) and euthanasia (OR = 3.51, CI = 1.58– 7.81, p = 0.002) than nurses in oncological wards. Nurses over 30 years old held more negative attitudes about physician-assisted suicide than younger nurses (OR = 0.16, CI = 0.07– 0.39, p

• Gjengedal, Eva; Ekra, Else Mari Ruberg; Hol, Hege Bente; Kjelsvik, Marianne; Lykkeslet, Else & Michaelsen, Ragnhild K A [Show all 11 contributors for this article] (2013). Vulnerability in health care – reflections on encounters in every day practice. Nursing Philosophy. ISSN 1466-7681. 14(2), p. 127–138. doi: 10.1111/j.1466-769X.2012.00558.x. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Vulnerability is a human condition and as such a constant human experience. However, patients and professional health care providers may be regarded as more vulnerable than people who do not suffer or witness suffering on a regular basis. Acquiring a deeper understanding of vulnerability would thus be of crucial importance for health care providers. This article takes as its point of departure Derek Sellman's and Havi Carel's discussion on vulnerability in this journal. Through different examples from the authors' research focusing on the interaction between health professionals and patients, existential, contextual, and relational dimensions of vulnerability are illuminated and discussed. Two main strategies in the professionals' interactions with patients are described. The strategy that aims at understanding the patients or families from the professional's own personal perspective oftentimes ends in excess attention to the professional's own reactions, thereby impairing the ability to help. The other strategy attempts to understand the patients or families from the patients' or families' own perspective. This latter strategy seems to make vulnerability bearable or even transform it into strength. Being sensitive to the vulnerability of the other may be a key to acting ethically.

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• Hol, Hege (2025). Sykepleierne (kapittel). [Journal]. Marianne S. Strand: Tinas historie : og en mors umulige valg. Full text in Research Archive
• Hol, Hege & Lundbäck, Maja (2024). Dags att diskutera dödshjälp. [Journal]. Omvårdnadsmagasinet. Full text in Research Archive
• Hol, Hege; Wallin, Pernilla; Öhlén, Joakim & Björkman, Sanna (2023). Forskare: Patienter som vill dö väljer att fråga sjuksköterskor. [Journal]. vordfokus.se. Full text in Research Archive
• Hol, Hege; Driller, Bardo & Panzer, Georg (2019). Når pasienten vil ha hjelp til å dø. p. 27–27. Full text in Research Archive
• Hol, Hege (2023). Sykepleieres opplevelser av og erfaringer med å motta forespørsler om assistert død. Høgskolen i Molde - Vitenskapelig høgskole i logistikk. ISSN 9788279623540. Full text in Research Archive
• Hol, Hege (2001). "Passiv eutanasi - etiske problemer" : en narrativ studie basert på Paul Ricoeurs filosofi : om legers og sykepleieres erfaringer med å være i etisk vanskelige situasjoner ved passiv eutanasi "Passive euthanasia - ethical problems". Universitetet i Oslo. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Hensikten med studien er å utforske og belyse legers og sykepleieres erfaringer med å være i etisk vanskelige situasjoner. To leger og tre sykepleiere i en intensivavdeling fortalte 14 fortellinger i forbindelse med passiv eutanasi. Denne fenomenologiske og hermeneutiske studien er basert på Paul Ricoeurs filosofi. Intervjuene ble transkribert og analysert i temaer og undertemaer. Hovedtemaene med å erfare etiske problemer var: å jobbe med eutanasi-problematikken; erfaringer med å møte døden; fokus på pårørende; og relasjoner blant personalet i intensivavdelingen. I henhold til Ricoeurs filosofi, ble diskusjonsdelen om legenes og sykepleiernes erfaringer, tolket ut fra "ytringens mening". Studien belyser tre områder som er i fokus når det besluttes å utføre passiv eutanasi. (1) Det kan virke som at passiv eutanasi er en prosess som består av tre nivåer; å ha håp, miste håp, og trøst. (2) Det kan virke som legenes og sykepleiernes oppmerksomhet er rettet mer mot pårørende, enn mot pasienten i denne prosessen. (3) Studien viser at å være profesjonell er en dynamisk prosess mellom å stå i nærhet og distanse til lidelsen. For å kunne forklare forskjellen mellom aktiv og passiv eutanasi er det utført en analyse på begrepet eutanasi. The aim of this study was to illuminate the lived experience of being in ethically difficult care situations. Two physicians and three registered nurses (RN's), working in an intensive care unit, narrated 14 stories about passive euthanasia. This phenomenological-hermeneutic study is inspired by Paul Ricoeur's philosophy. The interview text was transcribed and analyzed into themes and subthemes. The common themes about experiencing ethical problems were: working with the difficulties of euthanasia; experiencing the patient's death; focusing on the patient's family; and relationship among physicians and nurses in the intensive care unit. According to Ricoeur's philosophy, the reflection part is focused on the 'utterance meaning' of being in the lived experience. The study illuminates three topics which physicians and RN's experienced. (1) It seems like passive euthanasia is a process consisting of three phases; having hope, loosing hope, and consolation. (2) It seems like the interviewees focus is more on the family rather on the patient in this process. (3) The study reveals that being professional is a dynamic movement between closeness and distance to the suffering. In order to explain the difference between passive passive and active euthanasia, it has been performed a concept analysis of the word euthanasia.

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