Waerea Study Resources

Ethical Considerations

Research and References

The Waerea Study represents an early step toward addressing the gap in understanding assisted dying from a Māori perspective. We have collated national publications that centre discussions about assisted dying, involving Māori participants, Māori healthcare professionals and Māori researchers as this remains an emerging area of Kaupapa Māori research. The Waerea study team will also be publishing findings from their study in academic journals.

New Zealand publications on Assisted Dying

Early experiences of the End of Life Choice Act 2019 amongst assisted dying practitioners in Aotearoa New Zealand
Dehkhoda, A., Frey, R., Carey, M., Robinson, J., Sundram, F., Hoeh, N., Bull, S., & Cheung, G. (2025)..
BMC Palliative Care, 24(1), 149.
Read it in full here

Health Practitioners’ Experiences of Providing Assisted Dying in New Zealand

This research captured the experiences of health practitioners directly involved in providing assisted dying under New Zealand’s End of Life Choice Act 2019. Thematic analysis identified four major themes:

  1. Knowing
    • Prior personal experience (Personal beliefs, Clinical background, Assisted dying training)
  2. Doing
    • Reflective experiences of conducting assessments
    • Service delivery
    • Patient and family experiences
  3. Being an Assisted Dying Practitioner
    • Personal impacts
    • Professional impacts
    • Emotional impacts
    • Social impacts
  4. Health System Infrastructure
    • Overarching influence of system challenges and resources
    • Impact on practitioners’ overall experience

The themes highlight how assisted dying practitioners’ experiences are shaped by their personal and professional backgrounds, the practical realities of assessment and service delivery, the multifaceted impacts of being an assisted dying provider, and the broader health system context in which they operate.

Helping a loved one die: the act of assisted dying in New Zealand.
Feigin, S., Owens, R. G., & Goodyear-Smith, F. (2017). Mortality, 24(1), 95–110.
Read it in full here

  • This study examines family members’ experiences helping loved ones die in New Zealand before assisted dying was legalized, exploring the emotional, practical, and ethical dimensions of supporting a person’s end-of-life wishes.

 

 

Health care providers’ early experiences of assisted dying in Aotearoa New Zealand: an evolving clinical service.
Snelling, J., Young, J., Beaumont, S., Diesfeld, K., White, B., Willmott, L., Robinson, J., & Moeke-Maxwell, T. (2023).
BMC Palliative Care, 22(1), 101.
Read it in full here

  • This research investigates healthcare providers’ initial experiences delivering assisted dying services in New Zealand following the 2021 legislation, documenting the challenges and adaptations in establishing this new clinical practice.

 

 

Exploring the early experiences of assisted dying in Aotearoa New Zealand: a qualitative study protocol
Young, J., Dehkhoda, A., Ahuriri-Driscoll, A., Cheung, G., Diesfeld, K., Egan, R., Karaka-Clarke, T. H., Moeke-Maxwell, T., Reid, K., Robinson, J., Snelling, J., White, B., & Winters, J. (2024)..
BMJ Open, 14(10), e090118.
Read it in full here

  • This article presents a qualitative study protocol designed to systematically explore the early experiences of multiple stakeholders, including patients, families, and healthcare providers, with New Zealand’s newly implemented assisted dying service.

 

 

What do health care professionals want to know about assisted dying? Setting the research agenda in New Zealand.
Young, J., Snelling, J., Beaumont, S., Diesfeld, K., White, B., Willmott, L., Robinson, J., Ahuriri-Driscoll, A., Cheung, G., Dehkhoda, A., Egan, R., Jap, J., Karaka-Clarke, T. H., Manson, L., McLaren, C., & Winters, J. (2023).
BMC Palliative Care, 22(1), 40.
Read it in full here

  • This study identifies healthcare professionals’ key questions and knowledge gaps about assisted dying in New Zealand, establishing research priorities to guide future investigation and support evidence-based practice development.