• Luz María Guadalupe Pichardo-García, María de la Luz Lina Casas-Martínez, Mónica Jaimes-Palomera, Alma Guadalupe Sotelo-Méndez, Ana Paula Sosa-Delgado, Andrea Quintero-Luna, Tanit Ianie López-Vergara-Anaya, and José Alberto Aguilar-Júarez.
• Universidad Panamericana, Facultad de Derecho, Instituto Panamericano de Jurisprudencia. Ciudad de México, México.
• Gac Med Mex. 2019 Jan 1; 155 (2): 149-155.

IntroductionConcepts related to end-of-life decisions, such as euthanasia, palliative care, advance directives and therapeutic obstinacy, are poorly understood by the general population, which, when facing a terminal situation, is not prepared to choose the best option.ObjectivePilot study (n = 544) to find out what the open population understands about terms used in end-of-life situations in four cities of the Mexican Republic.MethodSurvey via Internet with 18 questions about different terms. It was a descriptive, cross-sectional study. Statistical analysis was carried out.ResultsPeople older than 18 years who were not engaged in health-related professional activities were selected.ConclusionsMost terms related to end-of-life decisions were found not to be interesting to or understood by a part of the population. The least recognized term was therapeutic obstinacy (62.8%), and the most widely known, palliative care (91%); there was confusion between the terms euthanasia and assisted suicide (47.8%). Age and education level had more influence in the results, than other demographic variables.Copyright: © 2019 SecretarÍa de Salud.

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