When to stop? Decision-making when children's cancer treatment is no longer curative: a mixed-method systematic review.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Children with cancer, parents, and clinicians, face difficult decisions when cure is no longer possible. Little is known about decision-making processes, how agreement is reached, or perspectives of different actors. Professionals voice concerns about managing parental expectations and beliefs, which can be contrary to their own and may change over time. We conducted the first systematic review to determine what constitutes best medico-legal practice for children under 19 years as context to exploring the perspectives of actors who make judgements and decisions when cancer treatment is no longer curative.

Methods

Theory-informed mixed-method thematic systematic review with theory development.

Results

Eight legal/ethical guidelines and 18 studies were includ

SUBMITTER: Valdez-Martinez E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4028290 | biostudies-literature | 2014 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature