Quinn Boyle

Dr. Boyle’s interests revolve around applied bioethics, predominantly ethical dilemmas surrounding institutional responses to the toxic drug crisis. In 2025, the government of BC began implementing their plan to expand involuntary treatment for people who use drugs (PWUD) despite a lack of evidence supporting its effectiveness and widespread opposition from PWUD, health care professionals, bioethicists, and researchers. Involuntary treatment has long existed under the BC Mental Health Act and its provision rests upon a key ethical issue in health care – decision-making capacity. To admit a patient involuntarily, the Act requires a physician to assess the decision-making capacity of the patient and deem them incapable of seeking care or understanding their need for care. However, there is no current research that reports on how physicians perform these capacity assessments. To address this gap, Dr. Boyle’s pragmatic bioethics work will examine capacity assessment policies and processes using document analysis and interviews with physicians. This work will culminate in ethics recommendations that guide the future of capacity assessments in BC.