Australia is witnessing a shift in public attitudes to possibly support euthanasia for people with dementia, says a leading expert on healthcare ethics.

Chair in nursing at Deakin University, Professor Megan-Jane Johnstone, said alarmist and negative framing of Alzheimer's disease as an "epidemic" and "the worst of all diseases" was seriously undermining public understanding of the disease and the care options available to them. "One example of the collective failure of society to recognise Alzheimer's as a manageable disease can be found in the conventional exclusion of people with dementia from palliative care resources," she said. Johnstone said in the past decade high-profile figures such as UK author Sir Terry Pratchett have used their...