The use of arguments and justifications in Westminster parliamentary debates on assisted dying.

Assisted dying, the practice whereby healthcare professionals provide lethal drugs to end the life of patients at their voluntary request, remains unlawful in the United Kingdom, despite multiple attempts to change the law during the past two decades. Using qualitative and quantitative research methods, our research analysed eight debates on this topic that have taken place in the Westminster Parliament between 2014 and 2022, with a view to (a) providing a detailed classification of the arguments used by Parliamentarians (b) establishing the range and balance of anecdotes, evidence and authority statements underpinning those arguments and (c) generating insights into relationships between these argumentative strategies and the stances and characteristics of the speakers. Supporters of change emphasise principles such as autonomy and compassion and make extensive use of anecdotes that describe awful deaths under the current arrangements.

Views of disability rights organisations on assisted dying legislation in England, Wales and Scotland: an analysis of position statements.

Assisted dying is a divisive and controversial topic and it is therefore desirable that a broad range of interests inform any proposed policy changes. The purpose of this study is to collect and synthesize the views of an important stakeholder group-namely people with disabilities (PwD)-as expressed by disability rights organisations (DROs) in Great Britain. Parliamentary consultations were reviewed, together with an examination of the contemporary positions of a wide range of DROs.

Corporations' use and misuse of evidence to influence health policy: a case study of sugar-sweetened beverage taxation.

Background: Sugar sweetened beverages (SSB) are a major source of sugar in the diet. Although trends in consumption vary across regions, in many countries, particularly LMICs, their consumption continues to increase. In response, a growing number of governments have introduced a tax on SSBs.

Patient participation groups: the national picture.

This article brings together research carried out by the National Association for Patient Participation from 2005 to 2009. Its aim was to capture the views of GP surgeries that have patient participation groups (PPGs) as well as those who do not. It also studied the views of PPGs affiliated to the National Association for Patient Participation (NAPP) about their role, their organisation and the support that they require to maximise their success.

Discovery Interviews: a mechanism for user involvement.

Discovery Interviews have become widely used in the UK National Health Service as a service improvement tool and patient involvement mechanism. This first paper in a series of three explores the development of Discovery Interviews in the NHS in the context of explicit central government policy of the development of patient-centred services and user involvement in shaping health service organization and delivery. It draws on the published literature on Discovery Interviews to date, including that on evaluation.