Support needs of persons who experience a loss by assisted suicide

• Applicant: Professorin Dr. Nathalie Oexle
• Subject Area: Public Health, Healthcare Research, Social and Occupational Medicine
• Term: since 2025
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 554827050

This project will identify the support needs of persons who experience a loss by assisted suicide (AS) in Germany and develop recommendations for needs-oriented, effective and implementable support services. Despite their important role in the planning and implementation of an AS, little is known about the experiences and support needs of persons bereaved by AS. Existing literature describes the foreseeability of a loss by AS as beneficial for the grieving process. At the same time, some studies indicate an increased risk for adverse mental health outcomes among persons bereaved by AS. AS is controversially discussed in many Western countries and also in Germany, which could, depending on the interplay of various contextual and personal factors, contribute to moral conflicts and negative social reactions experienced by relatives. However, to date a comprehensive understanding about whether and how structural, societal and interpersonal factors influence grief after loss by AS is lacking. To achieve our project goal, we will conduct three subprojects within 36 months. In subproject one, we will conduct 30 qualitative interviews with people who have experienced a loss by AS within the last 15 years to describe their experiences before, during, and after a loss by AS, and to identify the structural, societal, and interpersonal factors that shape these experiences. In subproject two, based on 24 qualitative interviews, we will describe how people with a desire for AS, treatment providers, and representatives of AS supporting associations perceive the role and support needs of relatives in the process of AS. In subproject three, we will use a group Delphi method to develop recommendations aimed at establishing needs-oriented, effective and implementable support services for relatives in the context of AS. The proposed project will therefore significantly contribute to the current state of research on loss by AS, as well as facilitate the implementation of adequate support services.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• International Connection: Austria
• Cooperation Partner: Professor Dr. Thomas Niederkrotenthaler