At the end: A vignette-based investigation of strategies for managing end-of-life decisions in the intensive care unit.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Decision-making on end-of-life is an inevitable, yet highly complex, aspect of intensive care decision-making. End-of-life decisions can be challenging both in terms of clinical judgement and social interaction with families, and these two processes often become intertwined. This is especially apparent at times when clinicians are required to seek the views of surrogate decision makers (i.e., family members) when considering palliative care.

Methods

Using a vignette-based interview methodology, we explored how interactions with family members influence end-of-life decisions by intensive care unit clinicians (n = 24), and identified strategies for reaching consensus with families during this highly emotional phase of care.

Results

We found that the en

SUBMITTER: Reader TW 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8829767 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature